The interconnected nature of risks is increasingly evident, as insured covers like business interruption (BI) and fire / explosion can now be triggered or magnified by systemic risks like cyber incidents, extreme weather or catastrophes, and political unrest and violence. Imagine, for instance, a cyberattack hitting one of the major cloud infrastructure providers, where the resultant business continuity fallout would ripple across thousands of businesses that rely on their services.

South African households are feeling the impact of persistently high inflation and interest rates, with 84% of consumer survey respondents saying they have had to make adjustments to cope with the increased cost of living. Forty per cent (40%) of these say that they have had to cut back on non-essential items to relieve financial pressure. Positively, short-term insurance remains very low on consumers’ radars when it comes to reducing expenditure, with only 1% stating they have cut short-term insurance policies.

Socioeconomic challenges remain top of mind for corporate and commercial entities, with theft emerging as the primary concern for commercial respondents. Concerns of theft have, however steadily declined over the past five years (from 34% in 2020/21 to 21% in 2025). “Persistent economic malaise remains a top concern for businesses at 19%. Interestingly, growing concerns over operational costs have emerged with machinery/systems breakdowns having increased by 6% over the last 5 years.

Intermediaries remain an important sales channel for short term insurance, used by 78% of businesses and 56% of consumers surveyed. The 2025 Insurance Barometer highlights the shifting nature of the broker from intermediary to risk management partner, as premiums rise to accommodate an increasingly complex risk environment. “Brokers are spending more time counselling and guiding clients and businesses on effective risk mitigation strategies, despite onerous administration requirements still taking up a large portion of their capacity. The study revealed that almost nine in ten brokers see themselves as risk advisers, saying that this is very important to their clients, says Matebesi.

Complex, or unconventional risks requires dedicated expertise and a bespoke approach to underwriting. Specialist insurance solutions are designed to cater to risks that fall outside standard short-term insurance products, including aviation, construction and engineering projects, marine cargo and hull, general and professional liability exposures, and heavy haulage, to name a few.

Agricultural businesses may find themselves facing margin pressures or having to seek out new export markets for their produce, if the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) is not reinstated or if trade tariffs become unsustainable. At the time of writing, the U.S. had imposed a 30% tariff on South African agricultural imports.

Santam’s Partnership for Risk and Resilience (P4RR) was established in response to a government appeal for private sector support of municipalities through the ‘Adopt a Municipality’ initiative. We aligned the programme with our long-term aspiration to narrow the risk protection gap, recognising that the most effective way to achieve this is to develop affordable and accessible insurance solutions, educate, and strengthen capabilities at a municipal level.