DEAR DELEGATES

The South African Insurance Industry (SAIA) and its partner, the Insurance Institute of South Africa (IISA) are once again delighted to welcome you back to the insurance industry flagship conference, the African Insurance Exchange (AIE) 2023. This conference has continued to claim a permanent spot in thousands of insurance professionals’ annual calendars, not only because it offers numerous networking opportunities, but also because of the relevance of the topics and issues lined-up for discussion.

As we once again converge at Sun City at the end of July 2023 to discuss some of the pertinent issues affecting our industry, there is a need for us all to remain cognisant of the fact that it is not the only industry afflicted by the myriad of challenges such as inflation, ever rising interest rates, supply chain challenges, and the rising commodity prices. The continuous rise in inflation has seen prices of replacement parts sharply increase, while supply chain challenges and transportation channel movements remain somewhat subdued. This has resulted in delays in the replacement parts import processes and, unfortunately longer waiting periods for clients.

South Africa has not been spared from these global challenges. In fact, they have also been exacerbated by an intense loadshedding regime that has resulted in hundreds of small and medium companies shut their doors permanently. These companies, as well as their employees have, in a way, been removed from participating within the economy. The results of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) indicate that the number of unemployed persons increased by 179 000 to 7,9 million during the first quarter of 2023. Additionally, the number of people who were not economically active remains at 13,2 million. Learning of these figures, one cannot help but be quite concerned of this high number of people who are not economically active, especially the youth.

The possibility that South Africa could suffer a partial - or even worse - total grid collapse has been viewed by most global reinsurers who partner with local insurers in carrying risks, as a likely event. This position taken by global reinsurers placed local insurers in a somewhat unpalatable position, as they had to withdraw this type of cover too for their clientele. However, we remain hopeful and trustful that our energy professionals at Eskom are working tirelessly to ensure that South Africa averts such likelihood.

Climate change continues to be yet another challenge for our industry as South Africa experiences one natural catastrophe after another. The KwaZulu Natal province has continued to experience serious flooding causing serious damage to property and loss of life for the last two years. While this is so, we have also experienced floods as well in the Eastern Cape area in the last few years. Other risks such as cyber security risks, a lack of maintenance to infrastructure by some municipalities remain significant.

All these issues seem like a daunting task and overwhelming. But we have been, and continue to be courageous, forging on in the face of adversity. As the non-life insurance industry, we continue to be called upon to assist policyholders to get back on their feet. Through all the challenges that have befallen our clients in the last few years, we worked closely with various stakeholders, including our service providers to ensure that we deliver on our promise to our clients.

I believe that you will enjoy the line-up of topical industry issues, challenges and risks that will be discussed in various exciting plenary and discussion sessions billed for this year’s event, and I hope that it is memorable for all of us.

Best wishes

Viviene Pearson