ASISA Board approves strategy for 2015
At its final meeting for 2014 on 28 November, the ASISA Board signed-off on the activities undertaken during the year and expressed its satisfaction with what had been achieved.
The Board also approved the ASISA strategy for 2015, which remains aligned with the objective of the National Development Plan (NDP).
We would like to thank the members of the Board for the valuable strategic input and support provided to ASISA during 2014.
Tax Free Investment Products
During the middle of November, National Treasury released for comment the draft regulations governing Tax Free Investment Products. ASISA has collated member input and submitted final comment by the deadline of 3 December.
National Treasury is holding a workshop in Pretoria on 10 December 2014. The details of the venue have not yet been published.
Governance and Risk Management Framework for Insurers
ASISA comments on the draft Governance and Risk Management Framework for Insurers were submitted to the Financial Services Board (FSB) in the first week of November.
The framework was released for comment by the FSB at the end of September this year and contains interim Solvency Assessment and Management (SAM) requirements. It also gives effect to the applicable Insurance Core Principles of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors.
Dishonest and fraudulent claims
Statistics released by ASISA in November showed a reduction in the number of fraudulent and dishonest long-term insurance claims uncovered in 2013 compared to 2012. Last year 4 690 fraudulent and dishonest death, funeral, disability, health and hospital as well as retrenchment claims were detected and prevented, compared to 5 466 in 2012.
The value of these claims, however, increased substantially from R669.9 million in 2012 to R794.5 million in 2013.
Hospital cash plans were hit particularly hard. For the first time the number of dishonest and fraudulent claims against these plans almost equaled those against death and funeral cover, which in the past always attracted the highest level of dishonesty and criminal activity. Syndicate involvement was behind the majority of fraudulent hospital cash plan claims in 2013.
ASISA Enterprise Development (ED) Fund
In 2014 the ASISA ED Fund focused much of its energy on establishing enterprise and supplier development capabilities in partnership with ASISA member companies. The first project was initiated in partnership with Sanlam. The first phase of the Sanlam Enterprise Development (ED) Programme was successfully completed this year and the second phase has been launched.
The first phase resulted in the following achievements:
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Five small and medium enterprises (SMEs) were handpicked from Sanlam’s supply chain and provided with more than 1 500 hours of focused business development support.
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This resulted in the creation of 37 new jobs for these businesses and an average growth in revenue of 20%.
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The ASISA ED Fund injected a total of R5 million into two of the SMEs – Waste Want and Liquid Thought - to stimulate further growth.
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As a direct result of the Sanlam ED Programme, Waste Want achieved growth in revenue of 27% in 2014 compared to 2013 and increased its headcount from 16 to 28. Liquid Thought achieved a 31% growth in revenue in 2014 compared to 2013 and increased its headcount from 11 to 28.
The ASISA ED Fund is also partnering with the Liberty Group on the management and implementation of Liberty’s supplier development programme. In 2015 the ASISA ED Fund will embark on a programme with the Inseta to develop black financial advisers.
Much of the success of the ASISA ED Fund can be attributed to the expert management of the fund by Edge Growth and we would like to thank the entire team for the passion with which they have approached this initiative.
Hammanskraal Financial Literacy Project
The “Saver Waya Waya” financial literacy campaign, launched in Hammanskraal in May this year, has been successfully completed. The ASISA Foundation, in partnership with the ASISA Consumer Financial Education Standing Committee, implemented the financial education pilot project in the Hammanskraal area, because it represents a cross section of different levels of urbanisation, education and economic activity.
The pilot project reached more than 8 000 members of the community between the ages of 18 and 60. The ASISA Foundation Trustees have given their approval for a further rollout of the project to leverage off the successes and taking into account the many learnings. “Saver Waya-Waya” means “to save always”. The programme is fully aligned to the Financial Sector Code standards and guidelines for consumer financial education.
Consumer Financial Literacy for Mineworkers
The ASISA Foundation is currently developing consumer financial literacy programmes specifically tailored to the needs of mine workers through the structures of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). This opportunity was facilitated by Sanlam through their relationship with NUM. The project is scheduled for roll out in 2015.
It is envisaged that the Foundation will apply the learnings from the "Saver Waya Waya" pilot project in developing and implementing the programme for mineworkers nationally.
Old Mutual Financial Education Seminars
On 8 November Old Mutual, in partnership with the faith based NGO Sinika Ulwati, hosted a financial education seminar at the Matsulu Stadium in Mpumalanga to create awareness about the importance of good financial habits. Janete Nel, ASISA Marketing Manager and point person for the ASISA Consumer Financial Education Standing Committee, was invited to participate and represent ASISA.
Janete addressed the more than 1 000 delegates on the importance of saving and dealing with the shocks of life. The seminar included various other speakers and an exhibition with health screenings and credit status checks.
ASISA Academy
The Academy launched its inaugural Financial Journalists Bootcamp in Johannesburg in November. Sponsored by MMI Holdings, but developed and delivered by the Academy to ensure independence, this Bootcamp is designed to raise the level of understanding among South Africa’s financial journalists of the savings and investment industry and its products as well as the challenges facing our industry and its key stakeholders. Lucienne Fild, the Programme Champion, engineered an action-packed series of workshops spread over four weeks, including a mock media conference where the CEO of MMI Holdings, Nicolaas Kruger, presented the MMI financial results as well as daily writing assignments delivered under high pressure. Every day saw resoundingly positive feedback from the thirteen participating journalists including the following:
“The course so far has been highly informative and it'll be a pity when it comes to an end. The rich content and exposure to experts is highly appreciated.”
“The calibre of speakers today was amazing. Their ability to convey concepts was faultless.”
“This course has provided a great insight into savings and investment. It's a pity the course isn't longer.”
There is strong demand from South Africa’s media houses to place staff on this pioneering programme, which will be repeated in Cape Town in March 2015.
November also saw the completion of the second CFA Exam Readiness workshop series for 2014, the final UCT CIS Short Course for the year as well as a second Equity Analysts Bootcamp.
Our sincere thanks to the industry presenters and the Academy team who have continued to deliver such high quality learning to the industry during 2014. We encourage you to consult the Academy’s 2015 learning calendar by clicking here to assist you in planning your team’s learning for next year.
In conclusion
This will be the last edition of Dispatches for 2014 and we would like to thank our members for their valued support throughout the year. A special thank you goes to all the member representatives who serve on the various committees and work groups.
To all our stakeholders, we really value the positive and productive engagements we have enjoyed with you in 2014. We look forward to working with all of you in 2015.
Please note that the ASISA offices will be closed from Monday, 22 December to Monday, 5 January to allow the ASISA team to take a well-deserved break after a busy year.
We wish you a restful holiday and safe travels.
Kind regards
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