Sanlam said yesterday it had paid gross mortality claims of more than R14 billion for the first 10 months of 2021, mainly due to the impact of the third wave of Covid-19.
It said in an operational update for the 10 months to October 31, that it had however, shown significant progress operationally and strategically since its interim results in September.
Sanlam Investments’ development as a leading black-owned asset manager and the proposed merger with Absa Investment Managers to create a scaled investment platform, would significantly improve the group’s market position, the update reported. It said client cash flows were strong during the period.
A new set of health insurance offerings in partnership with AfroCentric was launched to provide a more holistic product offering and fulfil a market need for affordable health insurance.
Proposed transactions with Alexander Forbes would enable the group to focus on providing umbrella pension fund solutions and a full range of investment and insurance products to the corporate benefits market.
The group divested from UK operations outside of asset management in line with strategy to develop a leading African insurance and asset management group. Sanlam also further optimised the Pan-Africa portfolio through strengthening its position in key markets and exiting sub-scale operations.
The Pan-Africa life portfolio new business volumes were up 22 percent and the value of new covered business was up 87 percent in constant currency. The cluster businesses did well to attract new customers and deepen relationships with existing customers. Sanlam’s new business volumes were 17 percent higher than 2020 and 46 percent higher than 2019.
Net fund inflows of R61.4bn were 21 percent higher than 2020 and 41 percent higher than 2019. Current year profits were in line with 2019. Measures had been taken to restore pandemic buffers over the next number of years, the update said.
BUSINESS REPORT