Our Blog & Insurance Related News
Association backs intermediaries to navigate the COVID-19 storm
The Financial Intermediaries Association of Southern Africa (FIA) has its finger on the pulse of the country’s financial advice and insurance broking community. We spoke to two members of the FIA Board to find out what the FIA was doing to guide its members during...
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How will the coronavirus impact the business travel market?
The continuing coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown means business travel remains at a standstill, and the long-term implications this pandemic may have on the insurance offering that employers provide once travel resumes is a burgeoning consideration. New research from...
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Coronavirus: Fighting the rise in cyber criminals from the home office
With many people working remotely because of the coronavirus outbreak, the number of cyber incidents is increasing as hackers, scammers and spammers look to exploit vulnerabilities in an attempt to steal valuable information. In response, AGCS experts highlight a...
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South Africans don’t trust insurers to have their backs in time of need: Index
South Africans doubt insurers will be there for them during their time of need, as companies put their focus on adopting digital technologies to remain competitive, at the cost of a more ‘human’ experience. This is one of the key take-aways from the latest South...
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Business interruption insurance: Could you be covered for Covid-19?
Business interruption insurance is designed to compensate a business for the financial impact of an interruption or interference as a result of physical damage to the insured property or due to external events such as damage at a key customer or supplier's property. ...
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Lockdown brings out the best in SA insurers
In the weeks since South Africa’s Covid-19 lockdown started, local insurers appear to be embracing the Treating Customers Fairly (TCF) principles even more so than required by law under normal conditions. Sustaining this could stand the industry in good stead when...
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Could D&O claims go viral following actions taken during COVID-19 pandemic?
On March 12, 2020, a plaintiff shareholder filed a securities class action lawsuit against Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, alleging that the company was employing misleading sales tactics related to COVID-19 bookings and cancellations¹. Another D&O claim was lodged...
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Coronavirus | A silver lining for SA? The cost of living could fall
The cost of living in countries with volatile currencies - like South Africa - is likely to decrease as the novel coronavirus wreaks havoc in in the foreign exchange market and on domestic demand, The Economist predicted on Thursday. Presenting the results of the...
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Remote working to cause 10-fold increase in SA cyber attacks
A showed a sharp spike in network attacks between 15 March and 21 March, with affected devices increasing in number from the 20 000/30 000 average to peak at approximately 310 000 over these few days. This is according to a Kaspersky Lab report, which states the...
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Glut of Jet Fuel Is on Brink of Overwhelming Global Storage
The world is close to running out of space to store all the fuel that jets are no longer burning. Only about 20% of land-based storage for the product remains -- about 50 million barrels -- while airlines cut flights, according to Vienna-based consultant JBC Energy...
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South African Ransomware Attacks Becoming Increasingly Targeted and Sophisticated, Warns Kaspersky
Kaspersky dubbed 2019 ‘the year of ransomware attacks on municipalities’. This followed research which showed that hundreds of municipal institutions across the globe were targeted by ransomware during the last year – where South Africa was not immune. While attacks...
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How to build a more diverse team
The more alike people are, the more likely they are to think along the same lines; therefore, there is less room for debate, discernment and disagreement As organizations grapple with more complex decisions and an ever-increasing pace of change, building a workforce...
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Investment losses present biggest virus exposure for insurers: Report
Investment losses rather than claims will likely cause the biggest hit to insurers from the coronavirus outbreak, according to a report from Moody’s Investor Services Inc. Trade credit insurers, however, could see higher claims resulting from pressure on China’s...
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Brands must consider protecting customers from cyber attacks
South African public and private sector organisations have fallen victim to a range of sophisticated cyberattacks over the last year and have resulted in reputational damage, loss of productivity and finances. Most organisations have to protect against a growing...
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IUMI on the coronavirus and containership fires
At the annual winter meeting press conference held by the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI), a host of the most pressing issues facing this sector were discussed and debated by several IUMI office holders who act as senior representatives of the global...
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Eight attributes of a hard insurance market
Global insurance pricing is on the rise. According to Marsh’s latest Global Insurance Market Index, all three major product lines – property, casualty, and financial and professional – are showing rate increases. As of September 2019, there had been eight straight...
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More SA ransomware attacks ring alarm bells
News has emerged that Tracker SA Systems were hacked over the weekend in the form of a ransomware attack. Heino Gevers, cybersecurity expert at Mimecast, comments: “South African organisations are likely to continue being targeted by cybercriminals until they...
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Boost your client conversion rate
Service excellence has its own unique currency; it generates, retention, referrals, wallet share and the highest margins. Fortunes are spent on generating new prospects to drive sales growth. Companies must measure the cost of their lead acquisition to ensure ROI. ...
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#BizTrends2020: Directors’ personal exposure will increase in 2020
If you are a director of a company engaged publicly you need to examine your role, responsibilities and potential liability as you go into 2020 because director's liability is expected to increase. This expectation is confirmed by the fact that claims against...
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Spring clean your insurance: 4 tips to help you save
Did you recently get married? Move in with your partner? Or maybe you made some adjustments to your property. Every year, our lives change and every new year we ‘spring clean’ the clutter to make way for the new resolutions. But more often than not there is one...
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