
Financial inclusion high, financial health low: insurers face outcomes test
With only 16% of South Africans financially healthy, insurers are being pushed to prove that products deliver real value when customers need them most.

With only 16% of South Africans financially healthy, insurers are being pushed to prove that products deliver real value when customers need them most.

Discovery Life’s 2025 statistics show 65% of payouts go to living benefits – advisers must rethink risk, product design, and client conversations.

Despite high penetration and digital sophistication, local insurers must turn strategy into action, embedding cover, simplifying products, and building ecosystems to capture the continent’s next growth opportunity.

Non-life insurers bounced back from a loss of R16.7bn in 2022 to a profit of R13.7bn in 2023, while life insurers posted significant profit growth, says KPMG.