Specie Insurance Demand Grows

April 6 - The South African insurance industry has seen an increase in demand for specie insurance in the past few years. This type of insurance requires the cover of cash in transit or high value commodities for a short period of time, for example art work during an exhibition or large amounts of cash being transported from A to B.

One company that has managed to tap into this lucrative market is Polygon Underwriting. The company's commercial director, Cornel Schoeman explained the concept: "Specie insurance is a niche financial service for which there is an increasing demand in South Africa, particularly on the cash in transit side."

"It has been difficult to obtain insurance cover for cash handling and transportation risks in the South African environment," said Schoeman. "Specie insurance risks require careful, diligent research and evaluation and through our focus on this specialized area of insurance over the past five years, we have been able to build up a solid book and cement partnerships with key local and international players."

Schoeman said that the demands for such type of services focused predominantly on cash being transported from one destination to another. This means that the money is at very high risk for a specific, albeit short, period of time.

"Often the risk is cash being transported from to and from banks, mines, ATMs, road tollgates and other high cash turnover operations," he explained.

Specie insurance differs from regular insurance in that it requires specific, tailor made policies that are created for each individual case. In addition, each field requires a high level of specialization so that, for example, art and jewelry can be estimated for their real value.

Polygon Underwriting has established ties for itself with several top partners, including the short term insurance software specialist, Grail Africa and Moonstone.