Tag: RiskManagement

There is a common misconception that having insurance guarantees a successful claim. However, this belief often leads to rejected insurance claims. After all, policyholders pay premiums every month. They expect the policy to respond when something goes wrong.

Ahead lies a massive and complex energy infrastructure rollout to repair and expand transmission and distribution systems. Both the state and the private sector are deploying historic levels of capital. Soon, thousands of technicians and workers will move to deliver this vision. However, I worry that we are not as prepared to support them as we are to meet budget requirements within this energy infrastructure rollout.

South Africa’s financial institutions are investing heavily in digital transformation, data capabilities and new financial technologies. However, technology alone will not determine which institutions succeed in the coming decade. Instead, leadership will serve as the real differentiator.

In April 2024, when 18 months of rain fell on Dubai in a single day, more than 1,200 flights had to be cancelled, stranding over 250,000 travellers in terminals. Late last year, Cyclone Ditwah wreaked havoc in Sri Lanka during peak tourist season, forcing mass evacuations of foreign visitors. Right now, conflict in the Middle East continues to ground flights and drive disruption, further intensifying ongoing business travel disruptions.

On 6 January 2026, the Pretoria High Court delivered judgment in a case concerning an insurance living annuity. The matter involved competing beneficiary nominations made shortly before the deceased’s death. Importantly, it highlights the risks associated with beneficiary disputes in living annuities.

According to our latest C-suite barometer, business leaders entered 2026 with both confidence and caution. Notably, 92% of executives reported a positive growth outlook for their organisations. At the same time, Artificial Intelligence (AI) emerged as the most influential external trend. Specifically, 40% of respondents identified it as the key factor shaping business over the next 12 months.

Public protest is a protected constitutional right in South Africa. However, when protest action moves into privately owned commercial environments such as shopping centres, different legal and risk considerations arise. In particular, protests inside shopping centres introduce complex liability questions.

Kidnapping remains a serious safety concern in South Africa. This risk is particularly acute in Gauteng, which accounts for more than half of reported cases nationally. Strengthening kidnapping risk awareness is therefore critical. According to the South African Police Service (SAPS) crime statistics for October to December 2025, 4,775 kidnapping cases were reported across the country.

The South African financial landscape is currently undergoing one of its most significant structural shifts in decades. As a result, businesses must prioritise navigating the transition from Johannesburg Interbank Average Rate (JIBAR) to South African Overnight Index Average (ZARONIA) with urgency and precision.

Africa is building one of the fastest-growing instant payment ecosystems in the world. However, transaction speeds now move in seconds. Fraud detection frameworks still operate in minutes, hours or even days. This gap creates a dangerous asymmetry. Payments are becoming real-time, while risk management often is not. As a result, real-time payments continue to outpace traditional control systems.