South Africa’s general insurer Santam announced the rebranding of its app-based digital client solution from JaSure to Santam Switch yesterday.
This comes after Santam initially acquired 51% of the insurtech in 2020 and completed the acquisition by obtaining the remaining 49% equity last June.
Atang Matebesi, the CEO of Santam’s Client Solutions business, said yesterday that the rebrand accelerated a fully digital solution for Santam and positioned the brand for growth within a younger market segment, while leveraging Santam’s established brand, underwriting expertise and track record as South Africa’s leading short-term insurer.
“The Santam Switch identity combines the best of JaSure’s energy and youthfulness, with the trust and credibility of the Santam brand to successfully resonate with Millennial and Gen Z consumers,” Matebesi said.
As part of its multi-channel strategy, Santam said it was accelerating its growth through a variety of distribution channels and business models to reach new market segments through “new age” digital insurance solutions.
He said the name change to Santam Switch aligned perfectly with the on-demand product features that enabled customers to switch their insurance on and off in the Santam Switch app and signified the product’s simplicity and ease of use.
Santam Switch is an on-demand digital client solution offering instant cover for motor vehicles, single home items, and portable possessions such as cellphones, laptops, photographic equipment, musical instruments, bicycles and other sporting and camping gear, among others.
Previously known as JaSure, the company was founded in 2018 with a product vision to empower clients to choose what they wanted to insure and when, in a seamless user experience through its intuitive app interface.
Matebesi said offering tech-based bite-sized cover for specific risks supported a more inclusive approach to driving insurance and access to previously excluded markets.
According to a report released by London-headquartered data analytics and consulting company GlobalData, the gross written premium of the South African general insurance market was R136.9 billion in 2021 and was expected to achieve a CAGR of more than 3% during 2021–2026.
According to this report released earlier this year, business interruption claims, risk of grid failure, and increase in claims due to load shedding were some of the key trends driving the South African general insurance market.
It added that a growing concern for South African insurers was the risk of grid failure.
“While the country is accustomed to load shedding in winter, the grid has become volatile, with power cuts for prolonged durations prevailing throughout the summer months. Insurers play an important role as the damages that could result due to grid failure are massive,” it said.
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