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A Brief Review of the Insurance Industry In South Africa
Filed Under (Online Business) by Sam on 03-09-2010
The Insurance Industry in South Africa has seen many changes during the past 100 years, including the rise of three major Insurance Acts as well as the Financial Services Board established in 1990.
The first act passed by the Union Parliament in the 1923 was based on the United Kingdom Assurance Company Act and was also known as The Freedom With Publicity Act. Insolvency and marriages were covered by its policies, and everything had to be fully disclosed to the public even though there were no specific regulations to determine how funds were endowed. The constancy and value of the Insurer was determined by means of the market at that time. The use of public control was frowned upon by many citizens, claiming that too much control would have the opposite effect, especially when taking into consideration the manner in which financial institutions were supervised.
With the rise of The “Control Legislation” Act passed in 1943, The South African Market Foundation questioned its importance. This Foundation arrogated that by forcing Insurers to deposit and invest in securities issued by specified public bodies, the state had total control over financial institution by means of the prescribed asset requirements, also known as the Du plum Rule. Even though debtors were protected by this rule, many investors and insurers lost their investment when the interest rose and their debt subsequently lost its value. Pensioners and widows where severely affected and many investors lost capital. In 1943 the Financial Institutions’ Office also came into power, and the Minister of Finance became its Registrar of Insurance.
A Statutory Regulatory Board was created in 1990 to supervise all financial institution under the supervision of the Financial Institutions’ Office and this board was known as The Financial Services Board. The FSB is the main controller of the Financial Services Industry, and supervise laws with regards to insurance companies, pensions funds, unit trusts, etc. It consists of two divisions, namely: Registration and Policy, and Prudential Supervision. A new Insurance Act was introduced in 1998, giving more protection to policy holders with the exemption of the Du plum Rule amended in 1977. In its basic form, the Du plum Rule stated that when unpaid interest becomes equal to outstanding capital, no further interest could be charged.
We can see from this brief review that the South African Insurance Industry is constantly changing. Insurance companies are evolving in complexity to keep up with the current markers, and go beyond what is expected. External factors also contribute to these changes, and these include crime and safety ratings, as well as the ever changing weather conditions. Risk management truly plays a vital role in all of this. If these factors are not managed to the full extent required, a client’s claims process could be negatively affected by poor risk management.
South African clients can rest assured that our insurance companies constantly strive to meet these demands, and enhance the service required. The Industry has proved that it can withstand a financial recession and difficult market related conditions.




