South African market News

S. Africa Insurers’ COVID-19 Payments May Be Too Little, Too Late, for Some Businesses

South African small businesses fighting rejected coronavirus-related claims said insurers’ offers of relief are too little too late for many and could leave some already struggling to survive with nothing at all. Insurers around the world have argued COVID-19 lockdowns …

S. African Insurers Bow to Policyholder Demands to Pay COVID Biz Interruption Relief

South African insurers are bowing to demands for the payment of losses that businesses suffered during the nation’s lockdown. Momentum Metropolitan Holdings Ltd.’s Guardrisk will make settlement payments to policyholders who submitted business-interruption claims for losses suffered when all but …

South Africa Retailer Steinhoff Offers $1B to Settle Global Accounting Fraud Lawsuits

South Africa’s Steinhoff has proposed to pay around $1 billion to settle outstanding legal claims following a massive accounting fraud, a fraction of the over 9 billion euros ($10.5 billion) claimants are seeking. The announcement sent its shares up over …

South African Insurer Santam to Pay Virus Relief to Clients with Biz Interruption Cover

South Africa’s largest property and casualty insurer will pay as much as one billion rand ($60 million) in relief to clients with business-interruption cover hit financially by the coronavirus pandemic. Santam Ltd. will begin making relief payments next week, mainly …

S. African Regulator Says Business Interruption Virus Claims Don’t Pose Systemic Risk

South Africa’s Prudential Authority expects that business-interruption claims linked to the Covid-19 pandemic poses little systemic risk to the insurance industry. The regulator is in talks with the country’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority and insurance companies on claims from policyholders …

South Africa Regulator Warns Insurers to Stop Broad Rejection of Virus Claims

A South African regulator warned insurers to stop broadly rejecting claims from businesses seeking to cover losses because of a lockdown to curb the coronavirus. “The Financial Sector Conduct Authority is concerned about the behavior of some insurers who are …

S. African Insurers Are Pushed to Pay COVID-19 Business Interruption Claims

Virus-related claims from just over 500 small South African firms battling insurers who have rejected them are worth up to 4 billion rand ($232 million), the firm representing the businesses has calculated. Loss adjustment firm Insurance Claims Africa (ICA) is …

South Africa Regulator Probes Insurance Contracts Over Unpaid COVID-19 BI Claims

A South African regulator is studying insurance contracts after customers complained that claims related to the coronavirus were unfairly rejected. One outcome from the process could include an order from the Financial Sector Conduct Authority on the fairness of wording …

South African Retailer Steinhoff to Sell Assets After $7B Accounting Fraud

Scandal-hit South African retailer Steinhoff said on Tuesday its only hope for survival is to sell off assets to become a retail-focused investment holding firm, as it fights to contain the fallout of a $7 billion accounting fraud. The company …

S. Africa Insurer Discovery Opens Bank, Challenging Traditional Lenders

It took Discovery Ltd. 1.5 million man hours over four years to build a bank. When the startup opens to the public Monday it will challenge South African lenders with histories going back to 1838, and they’re ready for battle. …