COMPANY PROFILE
Santam is the leading short-term insurer in South Africa
with a market share of close to 23%, annualised gross written
premium of more than R17.7 billion and assets of more than R18.8
billion.
Along with its subsidiaries, the business
transacts all classes of short-term insurance. The company operates
in two segments:
-
Insurance activities
-
Investment activities
The insurance activities segment engages in
commercial insurance, personal insurance and alternative risks. The
investment activities segment is engaged in all investment-related
activities undertaken by the company. Over the past two years the
company has made several acquisitions aligned to its strategy of
extending its leadership position in the general insurance segment
in South Africa and selected emerging markets.
Santam's competitive advantage has been
entrenched over 93 years in business. It derives from a national
infrastructure and strong intermediary network which offers clients
multiple points of entry - clients can conduct their business with
Santam personally, telephonically or electronically.
Our competitive offering is based on financial
discipline, our claims management system, intellectual capital and
capacity and the reputation of the Santam brand.
More than a brand
In 2011 Santam launched a revised brand positioning and
corporate identity with a simplified and rational message:
"Insurance, good and proper".
We have worked purposefully to change the
perception of short-term insurance as a grudge purchase to one
which is associated with peace of mind and comfort. To this end, we
asked clients and the insurance industry: "How confident are you
that you are getting what you pay for?"
We believe that insurance should add value to
people's lives, not questions and uncertainty. We recognise that
our success comes from understanding what is important to our
clients and approaching their concerns with the expertise and
integrity which has become the cornerstone of our company.
The redefined brand positioning created in 2011
differentiates Santam's offering and value to shareholders,
clients, partners and the broader South African economy.
"Insurance, good and proper" is true and authentic to the Santam
brand. It is rooted in our behaviour and in our culture, which is
premised on excellence.
One of the characteristics of a great company
is having the right people who can deliver on the company's
strategy and who are passionate about the company's vision and
values. At Santam we want to ensure that we continue delivering
"insurance, good and proper" by driving a culture of performance
and excellence within our company.
Recent market research shows Santam's intrinsic
message resonates successfully with South African consumers, which
has further enabled our intermediaries to sell to their respective
markets. We have maintained healthy levels of engagement with our
intermediaries, who in turn have assisted our clients with proper
advice to make sure that they have the cover they need.
We have demonstrated our leadership in a number
of spheres as we entrench the value embedded in Santam's heritage
further through our pursuit in understanding systemic risk and
excellent delivery across our business. Examples include our
sophisticated scientific underwriting models and expertise that
enable us to underwrite the risk correctly upfront; improved claims
services delivery through various initiatives; the successful
harnessing of technology in various spheres of our business; and
our efforts in understanding and managing the impact of climate and
other systemic risks. These initiatives are discussed in detail in
the relevant operational overview and our Sustainability
Report.
Santam's achievements over the past year are
testament to our commitment to excel in our industry. Our accolades
include Best Performer in our category in the Johannesburg Stock
Exchange's (JSE) 2011 Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) Index
in the low environmental impact category; Insurer of the Year,
South African Motor Body Repairers Association (SAMBRA); FIA Awards
2011: Commercial lines and Corporate winner; Climate Change
Leadership Award; Sunday Times Top Brands (Business Category)
Award; Financial Mail/Empowerdex Top Empowerment Companies 2011;
best Sustainability Report (Financial Sector) in the ACCA South
Africa Awards for Sustainability Reporting 2010; and a Silver
Loerie Award in the TV and Cinema Short Format Category for Best TV
Advertisement.
The Santam yellow umbrella embodies who we are,
where we come from and where we are going. We are proud of what we
have achieved thus far but remain intent on exceeding expectations
by delivering insurance, good and proper.
Some key facts about
Santam
-
We have a local footprint of more than
700 000 policyholders.
-
The company holds business interests in
Zimbabwe, Malawi, Uganda, Tanzania, Namibia and Zambia.
-
We have 4 375 employees in the group
and we operate world-class call centres in Cape Town and
Johannesburg.
-
Santam is rated a level 3 BBBEE
contributor with a black ownership structure comprising 26% of the
company (unverified for 2011).
-
AA+ Insurer Financial Strength rating
from Fitch Ratings and AAA claims-paying ability from Global Credit
Ratings Company.
-
Santam is a subsidiary of Sanlam Ltd
and has been listed on the JSE Ltd since 1964.
BUSINESS OFFERING
Santam provides short-term insurance products and services
focusing on corporate, commercial, and personal markets. It offers
benefits under short-term policies, which include engineering,
guarantee, liability, miscellaneous, motor, accident and health,
property, transportation, and crop policies, and contracts that
could comprise a combination of various insurance covers.
The company also provides alternative risk
transfer; long-term insurance consisting of funeral policies; and
cell captive facilities through Centriq Insurance.
Our renewed focus on the agriculture industry
includes specialist product and service solutions to support all
the personal and agricultural needs of today's farmer, including
cover for labour practice liability, livestock and crops.
Our products were traditionally distributed
through intermediary distribution channels. Although intermediaries
remain a very important channel, we have added a direct channel in
the form of MiWay to our stable at the end of 2010 and are also
building alternative distribution channels through our affinity
business unit.
Strategic intent
Our strategic intent is to retain and extend our current
leadership position in the short-term industry in South Africa
while building our reputation as an international leading general
insurance group in Africa and beyond.
Investment case
Santam's focus is on creating shareholder value and the
delivery of superior returns; we approach this within a
sustainability framework that aims to grow the company through
diversification, achieve sustainable insurance margins and increase
capital efficiency.
Santam has a stable dividend policy. We have
reduced capital and paid special dividends totalling R43.50 over
four of the past seven years. A further special dividend of R8.50
per share was declared by the board of directors on 28 February
2012.
The company has a well-defined and established
risk appetite and an optimised reinsurance programme by means of
which it retains more risk for its own account.
Our key financial measurements:
-
Earnings as a percentage of
shareholders' funds (return on capital)
-
Net insurance result as % of net earned
premium
-
Profit before tax
-
Headline earnings per share
-
Net asset value per share
Our sources of growth:
-
Traditional intermediated business -
retaining our leadership position
-
Specialist business - extending the
current footprint
-
Affinity business - creating access to
new markets
-
Direct - strategic growth phase through
MiWay, our direct insurance subsidiary
-
Santam Re - pursuing external
opportunities in South Africa and developing markets
-
International - partnering with Sanlam
and other financial services groups in developing markets
Sustainable margins for the business are
supported by our improvements in efficiency and our investment in
technology. Santam is continuously optimising processes and shared
services. More information about our various initiatives in this
regard can be found in the various operational reports later in
this document.
Group structure
Santam is a subsidiary of Sanlam Ltd. The Santam group has
made investments in several subsidiaries and associates as
disclosed in note 44 of the full set of annual financial statements
available on our website at www.santam.co.za. The key subsidiaries
in the group are:
-
Centriq Holdings (Pty) Ltd providing
alternative risk transfer and cell captive insurance through its
subsidiaries
-
MiWay Group Holdings (Pty) Ltd
providing direct insurance through its subsidiaries
-
Several investments in underwriting
managers providing specialist insurance, including Stalker
Hutchison Admiral (Pty) Ltd; Emerald Risk Transfer (Pty) Ltd; and
Mirabilis Engineering Underwriting Manager (Pty) Ltd
-
Santam Namibia Ltd, a Namibian
insurance operation
-
Indwe Broker Holdings (Pty) Ltd, an
insurance intermediary
Group risks
The group faces several risks inherent to the business.
The key risks are discussed in detail, along with actions taken to
manage these risks, in the various operational overviews and the
corporate governance report.
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