SA Insurance Groups Recognized at Awards Ceremony

June 15 - The Emperors Palace in Johannesburg recently hosted an awards ceremony to recognize insurance product providers in the South African industry.

The 2010 Financial Intermediaries Association (FIA) Industry Recognition Awards noted those insurance groups who had received good ratings in its annual survey, conducted by Bluestream Research.

The FIA awards helped provide benchmark best practice statistics for the industry, according to the President of the FIA, Seamus Casserly.

Another advantage of these benchmarks is that they stimulate healthy competition between South African insurance groups.

Bluestream Research has noted that competitive behavior in the industry has improved over the past five years due to the survey results.

The awards were given as follows:

Personal Lines - Santam

Commercial - Santam

Corporate - Santam

Life/Risk - Discovery

Investment (single premium) - Sanlam

Investment (recurring premium) - Sanlam

UMA - CIA

Medical Aid - Discovery

Employee Benefits - Momentum

The decisions to grant an award were based on a number of criteria, including product quality, service quality, relationship quality and overall satisfaction with the group's supporters.