Viviene Pearson | Wrapping up the year 2022

The year 2022, like the two before it, came with its own challenges for South Africans and the industry alike. The ripple effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the global economic challenges, loadshedding, high fuel prices and the rising costs of living have continued to be some of the many challenges the majority of us have had to contend with in the past year.

Despite all these challenges, and in keeping with the past year's theme: Forging stability and sustainability in the face of socio-economic headwinds, SAIA continued to work towards being a consistently engaged, collaborative and dynamic industry body. The combined efforts of the various SAIA strategic areas during the year, and the support from the SAIA Board and all other stakeholders are commendable and very much appreciated. 

The COP27 United Nations (UN) Climate Change conference which took place in Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt from 6 - 18 November 2022, highlights the climate change challenge which has a great impact on the non-life industry in terms of the risks associated with adverse weather patterns. Like in many other countries, South Africans are all familiar with devastating weather conditions with the latest being the KwaZulu Natal floods in April 2022 that led to a loss of about 435 lives and critical infrastructural damage which will take years to rebuild.

It is in this context that we can appreciate the decisions made at COP27; after intense negotiations, countries finally agreed to a breakthrough agreement to provide "loss and damage" funding for vulnerable countries hit hard by climate disasters. SAIA applauds and supports this great milestone. 

On 15 November 2022, a soft launch of the Retiree Repurposing programme was held at the SAIA offices in Johannesburg. This initiative by SAIA, INSETA and IISA, aims to bring back industry retirees to share their knowledge and skills with junior and middle-management mentees in the non-life insurance space. SAIA would like to wish the mentees well in this exciting journey and extends its appreciation to the retirees for the selfless act of dedicating their time and efforts in this programme. 

As the year winds down and as people prepare to travel to many destinations across the country, the recuring issue of road carnage is a dampener of the jovial spirit of the season. SAIA through its initiatives such as the Business for Road Safety and its collaboration with Business Against Crime continues to support the efforts of government in promoting road safety, more importantly, during peak seasons. For a more individual contribution to this cause, I would like to urge everyone to exercise caution and patience, and adherence to the rules of the road whilst driving. 

In this final Bulletin for the year 2022, I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a wonderful holiday season and a well-deserved break. Let us all come back in 2023 refreshed and ready to continue making valuable contributions to our industry. 

*Viviene Pearson is Chief Executive Officer at the South African Insurance Association (SAIA).

This article first appeared in the SAIA November Bulletin.