CCMA upholds yet another ‘anti-vaxxer’ dismissal
The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) has ruled that the dismissal of an “anti-vaxxer” was fair but in the same breath found the employer to be at fault for sending him […]
FSCA gears up for tougher enforcement as scams and misconduct rise
From funeral policy breaches to crypto non-compliance and weak AML measures, the regulator’s latest report outlines its key priorities – with online harm topping the list.
Death claims surge 53% during Covid-19 third wave
South African life insurers reported a 53% surge in death claims between 1 April and 30 September 2021 compared to the same period in pre-Covid 2019, according to statistics released by the Association […]
Life insurers ‘well capitalised’ despite paying out R608 billion in 2021
Policyholders and beneficiaries received claims and benefit payments worth R608 billion from South African life insurers in 2021, the highest paid in a single year, according to statistics released by the Association for […]
Covid death claims hit Momentum Metropolitan’s interim operating profit
Higher mortality claims knocked Momentum Metropolitan’s operating profit in the six months to the end of December, declining by 12% to R785 million compared to the first six months of the 2021 financial […]
Funds given until 6 May to submit information on paid-up members
The FSCA is ramping up its efforts to trace unclaimed benefits and wants retirement funds and administrators to provide it with information, every three months, about their paid-up members, in addition to information […]
Expect about R5.50 per share in Steinhoff settlement
“How much can I claim back from my Steinhoff losses in the current process?” This is a question we have heard frequently over the past few weeks, but which we have not seen […]
How Numsa’s life insurer went insolvent
In September 2020 the cracks in the finances of 3Sixty Life, the life insurer wholly owned by the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) through the Numsa Investment Company, started to show. […]
Key trends in the short-term insurance industry
The South African insurance industry is a vital socio-economic sector that provides a critical safety net to society. This was crystalised in 2021 as we continued to grapple with the fallout from the […]
Sanlam calls for ‘reason to prevail’ in the pricing of group risk insurance
The group risk market has been “consistently under-pricing” premiums for pandemics, and Sanlam hopes that “more rational pricing” will prevail in future, Sanlam’s financial director, Abigail Mukhuba, said during the group’s annual results […]
Sars red-flags most claims for home-office expenses
The SA Revenue Service (Sars) has allowed only R1.1 billion of the R2.9bn claimed by taxpayers for home-office expenses, Sars commissioner Edward Kieswetter told a meeting of Parliament’s finance committees this month. In […]
Insurers making increasing use of ‘reckless driving’ clause to reject claims
Insurers are disputing or rejecting an increasing number of motor vehicle accident claims on the grounds that the insured was speeding, and consumers should be made aware of the implications of the reasonable […]
Fifth wave could hit SA in April or May
A fifth wave of Covid-19 could hit South Africa in April or May, but Discovery thinks it is unlikely that it will be more severe than previous waves, says group’s chief executive, Adrian […]
Tribunal not confident FSP will follow the correct debarment procedure
The Financial Services Tribunal has set aside the debarment of a representative and declined to refer the matter back to the FSP for reconsideration, because the tribunal had no confidence that the FSP […]
5.5% increase for GEPF pensioners
Pensioners who belong to the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) will receive a 5.5% pension increase on 1 April. Pensioners who retired on or before 1 April 2021 will receive the full increase, […]
Fundi Tshazibana to head the Prudential Authority
The South Africa Reserve Bank has appointed deputy governor Fundi Tshazibana as the chief executive of the Prudential Authority (PA), in a rotation of deputy governor positions, the SARB said in a statement […]
Will loyalty programme devices be used to refute claims?
My colleague Mark Bechard’s article on the increase in rejected claims because of reckless driving raises a few interesting questions about the possible use of technology when investigating such claims. The Ombudsman for Short-term […]
Sars is not targeting taxpayers unfairly, says Kieswetter
The SA Revenue Service (Sars) has “a long way to go” before its service reached an acceptable level and it was “striving hard” to strike a better balance between customer service and risk […]
