South African market News

South African Insurer Santam Accepts Liability for Some Rejected COVID-19 Claims

JOHANNESBURG – South African insurer Santam will begin assessing payouts for some previously rejected coronavirus-related claims after recent court judgments on such cases but still intends to challenge one finding against it. Like other insurers around the world, Santam had …

S. African Insurer Guardrisk Will Not Challenge Court Ruling on COVID-19 Claims

JOHANNESBURG – South African insurer Guardrisk will not further challenge a court process that has found it liable to pay clients’ rejected coronavirus-related claims, it said late on Thursday. Guardrisk, the country’s fourth-largest non-life insurer, and its peers around the …

South Africa Court Dismisses Insurer Guardrisk’s Appeal in Coronavirus Claims Case

JOHANNESBURG – A South African court on Thursday dismissed insurer Guardrisk’s appeal against a previous ruling that found it was liable pay a Cape Town cafe’s rejected coronavirus claim. Like other insurers in South Africa and around the world, Guardrisk, …

Swiss Re Corporate Solutions Authorized in S. Africa to Write Direct Insurance

Swiss Re Corporate Solutions announced it has received a direct insurance authorization from the South African joint regulators Prudential Authority and Financial Sector Conduct Authority. Located in Johannesburg and fully operational, Swiss Re Corporate Solutions Africa offers customers in South …

South African Insurer Santam to Appeal COVID-19 Business Interruption Ruling

Santam said on Friday it would appeal against a court ruling that found South Africa’s largest non-life insurer liable to pay a client’s claim relating to a coronavirus lockdown. Like insurers in other countries, Santam has been battling with clients …

South African Insurer Santam Loses COVID-19 Business Interruption Test Case

A Cape Town court ordered Santam Ltd. to pay out business-interruption claims to two South African hospitality companies, potentially opening up the industry to cover losses suffered because of the coronavirus pandemic. The court agreed with the approach of the …

S. Africa’s Regulator to Clarify Policyholders’ Rights in Pandemic Insurance Claims

South Africa’s financial watchdog is consulting with lawyers and the insurance industry on a potential test case to clarify whether insurers should pay rejected claims from firms hit by the impact of the coronavirus, it told Reuters on Thursday. Several …

S. Africa Insurers’ COVID-19 Payments May Be Too Little, Too Late, for Some Businesses

South African small businesses fighting rejected coronavirus-related claims said insurers’ offers of relief are too little too late for many and could leave some already struggling to survive with nothing at all. Insurers around the world have argued COVID-19 lockdowns …

S. African Insurers Bow to Policyholder Demands to Pay COVID Biz Interruption Relief

South African insurers are bowing to demands for the payment of losses that businesses suffered during the nation’s lockdown. Momentum Metropolitan Holdings Ltd.’s Guardrisk will make settlement payments to policyholders who submitted business-interruption claims for losses suffered when all but …

South Africa Retailer Steinhoff Offers $1B to Settle Global Accounting Fraud Lawsuits

South Africa’s Steinhoff has proposed to pay around $1 billion to settle outstanding legal claims following a massive accounting fraud, a fraction of the over 9 billion euros ($10.5 billion) claimants are seeking. The announcement sent its shares up over …