- Insurance companies in South Africa are facing billions of Rands worth of claims after the recent floods in KwaZulu-Natal. The insurance companies were already under great stress for the last two- three years due to Covid-related claims in 2020 and the civil unrest damage in July 2021.
Insurance companies in South Africa are facing billions of Rands worth of claims after the recent floods in KwaZulu-Natal. The insurance companies were already under great stress since last two- three years due to Covid-related claims in 2020 and the civil unrest damage in July 2021.
The first shock came with the Covid-19 pandemic when the South African long-term and short-term insurance industry was hit by claims for loss of income, death and business interruption. The Association for Savings and Investment South Africa (Asisa) reported that from April 2020 to September 2021 alone, the life assurance sector paid out about R92-billion in death claims.
The rioting in July 2021, cost about R34-billion for the state insurer Sasria. This year’s floods have claimed more than 440 lives as of now. The cost of rebuilding and repairing infrastructure was estimated to be R12-billion according to KZN Premier Sihle Zikalala. Already Old Mutual Insure has received R245-million worth of flood related claims within the first week of flooding.
Most of the insurance companies are covered under Re insurance schemes. But constant occurrence of calamities will lead to a rise in premium. Insurance experts feel that there are several new or emerging insurance risks that have the potential to erupt, threatening the sustainability of the industry. The Global Risks Report 2021, published by the World Economic Forum, has identified the top four emerging risks, which are extreme weather events, climate action failure, human environmental damage and infectious diseases.
Read Also:
https://trendsnafrica.com/housing-crisis-in-south-africa-gets-severe-after-floods/
https://trendsnafrica.com/south-africa-floods-death-toll-crosses-four-hundred/
