Sanlam shifts its focus to higher-margin products
High unemployment in mass affluent segment reduces new business volumes in first half, but value rises 11%
Sanlam has shifted its focus to selling higher-margin products as SA faces its highest unemployment levels to date, which has affected insurers’ ability to sell policies. The insurance giant’s new business volumes shrank 4% to R110bn in the half-year to June, but CEO Ian Kirk’s team made up for this with an increase of 11% in the value of new business, which stood at R782m by the end of June. Sanlam’s mass affluent segment struggled to sign on new single-premium policies — in line with rival insurers Old Mutual and Liberty, which also had trouble in the segment — but the contagion spread to Sanlam’s high net-worth individuals at its Private Wealth cluster. This, along with lower investment inflows in SA, Namibia and Malaysia, led to the decline in new business. "It’s all the same in the market … we are dealing with low economic growth, retrenchments, lower consumer confidence," Kirk said after the release of the results on Thursday. Insurers had been affected across the board. Sanla...
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