SAFIRE INSURER Oct 2016

THE INSURER

OCTOBER 2016

Restaurant card risks

Paying by credit card at retailers, garages and restaurants is second nature, but we seldom consider the risks involved when we hand over our card, as long as we can keep it in sight. But staff might be perpetrators of card fraud, often recruited by syndicates and supplied with high-tech tools to steal customers’ money. This is what you need to watch out for.

Security when your car is serviced

Sending a vehicle in for service or repairs requires that we take measures to protect ourselves from losses: loss of parts such as the jack and spare tyre (although this should not be a problem with reputable dealerships and workshops), as well as personal items such as CDs, cellphone chargers etc.

Healthy golfers

A study of 5000 people found that playing golf can increase life expectancy by up to five years, with the game offering significant health benefits and helping prevent forty major chronic diseases including diabetes, heart disease and cancer as well as promoting respiratory and metabolic health. Mental health benefits include reduced risk of depression, anxiety and dementia.

Entries open for 2017 Safire Berg 100

This 100km point to point race through the majestic Southern Drakensberg is held 6-7 weeks prior to Joberg2C & Sani2C, making it an ideal non-technical training race. Billed as one of the toughest single day events in SA, the Safire Berg 100 will take place on 18 March 2017 and in keeping with tradition, will swap direction from Himeville to Nottingham Road in the KZN Midlands.

Safire supports charity golf day

Safire sponsors the Sunshine Coast Charity Golf Day, which generates funding to buy supplies for farm schools in the Nanaga farming area of the Eastern Cape, about 60km from Port Elizabeth. This year the event was held at the PE Golf Club, and Safire also hosted its annual watering hole, manned by Hedley Bertrand, our Broker Consultant for PE. Seen here from left to right are Marc Bradley (Integrity Brokers Queenstown), Philip van Rensburg (Algoa Brokers Port Elizabeth), Morne van der Merwe (Morne van der Merwe Brokers Uitenhage) and Pieter Minnie (Broker Consultant Safire PE).

Drones deliver blood

Drones are being used in Rwanda to cheaply and quickly deliver blood to hospitals, with drones launched from a catapult mounted on a launch pad. One delivery, which would have required a three hour return trip because of traffic congestion and poor infrastructure, took less than 10 minutes.

Improved night vision

Many drivers find it difficult to drive at night and battle with visibility after dark and in bad weather. DriveSafe spectacles have been launched by optic/opto-electronics company ZEISS with a special coating on the lens that reduces the glare of oncoming headlights and the reflection off wet road surfaces.

New-name hot dogs

Food outlets in Muslim-majority Malaysia must rename hot dogs or risk being refused Halal certification, a government religious authority has said, following complaints by Muslim tourists from overseas. Apparently, in Islam, dogs are considered ‘unclean’ and the name cannot be related to halal certification.

Wittenberg Trail Run

The inaugural Wittenberg Trail Run was held in September and hosted by the Assegaai Marathon Club and the Wittenberg Offroad Club. Sponsored by Safire along with TWK, Spar and ES Chemicals, this fun event which will now be held annually proved to be very popular, with more than 110 participants from as far afield as Durban, Johannesburg and Pretoria enjoying the routes through the forests and farmlands around Piet Retief. Experience the excitement here!

WATCH

ECONOMIC TIDBITS

$120 billion – amount of unmet demand in Africa for financial assistance by small and medium sized enterprises. A survey shows that only 5% of SMEs in sub-Saharan Africa are ‘adequately served’ by banks.

R460m – cost of #feesmustfall protests to 18 universities in damages to property alone between October last year and May this year. With protest action having heated up in recent weeks, this figure is likely to increase.

32 million – number of people in southern Africa who have been left food insecure following the worst drought in 35 years. With male and female farmers having unequal access to resources, female farmers are going to be the hardest hit.

$2.17 billion - value in 2014 of sales and developments of large properties across Africa, 33% lower than in 2011. Investor risk appetite dropped because of lower commodity prices which have reduced the economic growth outlook of oil-exporting countries, plus the slow down of China’s economy and volatile currency markets.

31 – the volatile Rand’s position on a list of 31 major and emerging-market currencies tracked by Bloomberg during the last six months. Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago believes it is currently undervalued and fluctuations are partly driven by political turmoil.

2.5 million – number of Galaxy Note 7 phones that Samsung is preparing to ‘dispose of’ after dozens of fires, two recalls and the complete cancellation of the product. The U.S. government warns that anyone knowingly bringing one and its potentially explosive battery onto a plane could be subject to criminal prosecution.

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