Tag: underwriting

Smarter underwriting, stronger risk management and closer collaboration between insurers and engineers are shaping the industry’s future. Engineering has always been about progress. It stretches the limits of knowledge, materials and technology to solve complex problems. However, innovation and risk remain inseparable. Every project carries uncertainty.

In response to an increasingly volatile economic landscape, South African businesses are turning to trade credit insurance. They use it as a strategic tool to safeguard their operations against the risks of non-payment and insolvency. This surge in uptake of trade credit insurance reflects a growing recognition of its critical role.

The insurance industry is undergoing a transformation. It is shifting from broad, one-size-fits-all coverage models to niche solutions tailored to specific risks. The future of insurance lies in this movement toward specialised cover. It is being driven by emerging risks, evolving customer expectations and advancements in technology.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning algorithms have fast-tracked automation in South Africa’s insurance industry. However, these solutions also introduce unique cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Specifically, adversarial attacks can compromise the accuracy of risk assessments, bypass fraud detection and disrupt claims processing. Without proper digital security in place, this can lead to compliance violations and severely damage the reputation of local insurers.

The mining industry faces a precarious balancing act. Mining companies must balance economic growth and environmental responsibility. The industry supplies critical minerals for renewable energy and climate technologies. However, increased mining activity significantly harms the environment.

These are times of unprecedented change and disruption. New technological innovations and geopolitical events are just two of the major catalysts of change in the landscape of risk. In times of volatility, businesses are often faced with increased risk exposure, with opportunistic cybercriminals at the ready to exploit vulnerabilities and take advantage of loopholes.

In George, thirty-four people died when a partially completed five storey residential building collapsed. This event is tragic, and albeit the worst building disaster in South Africa, is by no means an isolated incident of professional incompetence.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is arguably one of the most prolific buzzwords of the past decade. Since the advent of ChatGPT in late 2022, AI has become a hotly debated topic beyond the boardroom, reaching casual dinners and braai's. True, AI presents potentially both humanity’s greatest achievement and unknowable prodigious risk. True, AI presents potentially both humanity’s greatest achievement and unknowable prodigious risk.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD), encompassing heart disease and stroke, has been a major cause of death globally for a long time. It has affected individuals and their families and had far-reaching consequences for industries that provide financial security, such as life insurance.

Mining is a historically linear process – we take materials from the earth, make products from them and eventually throw them away as waste. With the intensification of climate change, environmental degradation, pollution – all products of linear economies – the mining industry needs to transition to a circular economy.