Thesis (MBA (Business Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Since its inception in 1998 as a wholly owned captive insurer, Sasguard has successfully supplied the short-term insurance needs of its parent company, Pioneer Foods Pty Ltd. Although the financial results of Sasguard increased steadily over this entire period, the insurer has never investigated the quality of its service regarding the perceptions of its internal support staff, who represent Sasguard to its client Pioneer. The objective of this research report was to critically analyse the insurer’s current risk underwriting and claims management procedures to determine if the current situation was acceptable and if not, to present proposals to reduce costs and to supply Sasguard’s internal clients (members of the parent company) with a better service. The tasks that were completed for this report were: • a literature study on aspects of risk management directly applicable to Sasguard; • critical analysis of the current risk underwriting and claims management procedures; • identification of shortcomings in the current structure; • collection of responses from internal support staff members by an electronic questionnaire; • critical analysis of those responses; and • proposals which Sasguard can implement to address identified shortcomings. The questionnaire was posted on Pioneer’s intranet site, and the entire population of 30 members was notified by email to complete and submit it within a specified period. Twenty-eight staff members did, with two on leave, for a 93% response rate. The responses were analysed in detail to form the basis of the empirical investigation. They were compared to the writer’s own observations, and together were used to develop conclusions and recommendations which Sasguard can implement in future to reduce both risk and costs associated with claims submitted by its internal clients. The main findings follow. Not enough representatives are at management level. Most (89%) want to increase their background knowledge of insurance, mainly through Sasguard. They want a paperless system to view claims. They were divided on whether to establish a workshop to recover parts of disused vehicles; more study is needed. They want to simplify the process of getting quotes and thus facilitating claims. They want better two-way communication. They favoured using the claims history of a branch, along with other forms of reward, to motivate supervisors and drivers, and others, to reduce the accident rate. The issue of whether out-sourced drivers have increased accident claims needs more study. Indeed, the legal employment status of out-sourced drivers needs to be addressed. Most of the internal client representatives were satisfied with the speed of claims settlement, but nearly a third were not entirely satisfied, which the researcher interprets as a cause for concern. Furthermore, one fourth would consider moving to a traditional insurer; this perception also is worrying and can be addressed, possibly through better understanding of the captive insurer and its practices. Proposals followed from the findings, hopefully to be implemented in due course. While results cannot be generalised, they can be provide insight to other captive insurers, especially those in a manufacturing environment similar to that at Pioneer Foods. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Vanaf die totstandkoming van Sasguard as ‘n alleenbeheerde gevange versekeraar in 1998, was die maatskappy deurgaans instaat om in sy moeder maatskappy se korttermyn verskeringsbehoeftes te voorsien. Alhoewel Sasguard se finansiële resultate vir die totale periode voortdurend gegroei het, het die versekeraar dit nooit voorheen nodig geag om ‘n ondersoek te loods om te bepaal of dit werklik in sy interne kliënte se verskeringsbehoeftes voorsien het aldan nie. Die oogmerk van hierdie navorsingsverslag was om ‘n kritiese analise op die versekeraar se huidige onderskrywings en eise besturingsmetodes toe te pas om daaruit te bepaal of die huidige metodes wel voldoende is aldan nie. Indien daar bevind sou word dat die huidige metodes nie voldoende is nie, voorstelle te ontwikkel om die koste van eise te verminder en ‘n beter diens aan sy interne kliënte te kan lewer. Die voortvloeinde take van die werkstuk is: • ‘n Literatuurstudie op daardie aspekte van risikobestuur wat ‘n direkte invloed op Sasguard se besigheidsomgewing het; • Kritiese analise van die huidige metodes om risko te onderskryf en eise te bestuur; • Om tekortkominge in die huidige struktuur te identifiseer; • Verkryging van die versekeraar se interne ondersteuningspersoneel se opinies deur ‘n elektroniese vraelys; • ‘n Kritiese analise van die respondente se antwoorde; en • Voorstelle wat Sasguard kan gebruik om die geidentifiseerde tekortkominge suksesvol aan te spreek. Die vraelys was op die maatskappy se intranet netwerk geplaas en e-posse is gebruik om elke individuele respondent in kennis te stel om die vraelys te voltooi binne ‘n bepaalde tydperk. ‘n Totaal van 28 uit die 30 populasie het die vraelys voltooi, vir ‘n totale reaksie van 93 persent. Die antwoorde vanaf respondente is getabuleer en het gedien as basis van die empiriese studie. Deur die getabuleerde data met die skrywer se eie observasies te vergelyk kon voorstelle ontwerp word wat die versekeraar in die toekoms kan gebruik om aan die een kant sy blootstelling aan risiko te verminder en aan die ander kant sy eisekoste te verlaag. Die hoofbevindinge van die studie volg hiernaas. ‘n Grooter aantal interne kliënt verteenwoordigers moet op bestuursvlak dien by die interne kliënt. Die meeste van hierdie verteenwoordigers het ‘n behoefte daaraan om hulle verskeringskennis uit te brei, hulle verkies ‘n papierlose sisteem waarop vordering van hulle ingediende eise vertoon word, hulle het ‘n behoefte aan ‘n meer eenvoudige proses om kwotasies te verkry en hulle benodig verbeterde tweerigting kommunikasie. Hulle is optimisties dat aksies waardeur goeie drywers erkenning ontvang ‘n positiewe invloed kan hê op hierdie drywers, asook ander individue, wat daardeur ook toekomstige eise sal verlaag. Die terugvoer was dubbelsinnig rakende die oprigting van ‘n sentrale onderdele verskaffer, die ongeluksratio van uitgekontrakteerde drywers, sowel as die wetlike aspekte rondom die status van hierdie drywers. Areas van kommer is die ontevredenheid van sommige interne verteenwoordigers ten opsigte van die spoed van eise afhandeling, asook die siening dat tradisionele versekering moontlik meer waarde kan bied as gevange versekering. Alhoewel die resultate van hierdie navorsingsprojek nie veralgemeen kan word nie, voorsien dit wel insig aan ander gevange versekeraars, veral vir organisasies wat in dieselfde vervaardigings-sektor as Pioneer Foods sake doen.

This study investigates the extent to which South African short-term insurance companies manage climate change risk, as evidenced in their annual and sustainability reporting. The study context takes into account the fact that the world’s climate has been changing at a more accelerated rate since the early 1970s, causing disasters that have negatively affected world economies in the last ten years. Insurers, due to their huge financial resource base, long history of spurring innovation around risk and encouraging loss-reducing behaviour as well as high levels of vulnerability, have been identified as one industry that could lead societies in finding solutions to climate change risk. A key element of such a corporate resolve involves taking a leadership position which makes business sense for insurers. As such, this research analyses how innovative solutions to change-related problems could result in reduced exposure to climate change in line with corporate triple bottom line objectives. Based on a purposive sampling of short-term insurance companies operating in the South African market during the 2007 financial year, the study uses the companies’ annual and sustainability reports in order to critically assess evidence of climate change-related performance. The assessment is undertaken against the best practice indicators of climate change risk management, as defined by Ceres – a global researcher on climate change management in the business context. The data analysis is largely qualitative, consisting of a narrative presentation of the results and a conceptual application of the results to the triple bottom line which forms the theoretical framework of this study. The study finds that the South African short-term insurers were generally not living up to the climate change management ideals, in comparison to their multinational counterparts. For the South African short-term insurers, corporate strategic product innovation and planning was insignificant. Also negligible was board involvement, as well as CEO involvement, though in at least one case of the 4 local short-term insurance, there was evidence of extensive CEO involvement in climate change risk management. On the whole, these findings represent a lapse in corporate governance inasmuch as climate change risk management is concerned. Local short-term insurers generally performed well in the area of public disclosure, with their scores ranging from insignificant to extensive. In contrast, multinational short-term insurers’ performance with regard to climate change risk intervention ranged from insignificant tointegrated, across the five governance areas of board oversight, management execution, public disclosure, emissions accounting and strategic planning. As such, the study broadly recommends that short-term insurers in South Africa should make climate change part of their overall risk management strategies in order for them to remain competitive in an environment of increased climate change-related risk. More specifically, the research project recommends that the local insurers should proactively lead climate change mitigation measures through, for instance, investing in clean energy projects and incentivising their clients’ participation in the carbon market to prepare themselves for possible regulatory restrictions after the Copenhagen climate change conference planned for December 2009. This study also challenges insurers to help communities and as well as other businesses in their value chain to reduce their negative impacts on the world’s climate and to be more resilient against disasters which may arise from the high levels of greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere. Further, it recommends that insurers should create internal board and executive level climate change-related structures, as these will facilitate the integration of the proposed initiatives into their overall sustainability strategies. Above all, the study recommends that insurers should enhance the reporting of their climate change-related risk, opportunities and initiatives to improve their integrity.

This study shows that managers of short-term insurers may improve their financial results if they can identify and manage the factors that are critical to their financial results. The development and application of the concept of critical success factors are therefore used as a basis for this study. The study reviews the functions performed by short-term insurers, focusing on the effect these functions have on their cash flows. Selection and pricing of risk are discussed in detail. The underwriting cycle in South Africa, and several possible causes of the cycle are investigated. Reinsurance, claims handling and rilanagement expenses are important components of the cash flows of short-term insurers and are therefore examined in detail. The optimum risk level at various combinations of underwriting and investment income is empirically tested, using the financial results of several insurers. The study investigates different approaches to the measurement of financial success of insurers, and the return on shareholders' funds is found to provide the fairest and most reliable method. Empirical comparisons are made on the financial results of the insurers that participated in the study to distinguish between those that are financially successful and those that are not. To discover what the industry consider to be their critical financial success factors, a postal survey was done of key decision makers in the South African short-term insurance industry. Respondents identified several success factors, but did not include some success factors discovered during the review of the literature. Respondents apparently experienced difficulty in separating strategic issues from operational ones. The survey revealed that the pricing of risk is problematic for short-term insurers. The importance of the investment function is also underestimated by the industry. The study concludes that the combined systematic risk of the investment and underwriting portfolios is a critical success factor, along with the capital base of the insurer, the ability of the insurer to use the leverage provided by using policyholders' funds as free reserves and the size and direction of an insurer's cash flows. / Business Management / D. Com (Business Management)

The financial stability of the insurers is important to fulfil its role as a risk transfer mechanism and to protect the purchasers of their products. The European Union is introducing the Solvency II to modernise the current Solvency I regime and to harmonise the different insurance legislation of the members of the European Union. Solvency II introduces an architecture consisting of three pillars, with Pillar I setting the solvency capital requirements, Pillar II the governance and risk management requirements and Pillar III the reporting requirements. The South African Regulator initiated Solvency Assessment and Management for implementation in 2016 to align the South African prudential regulatory framework to meet the Solvency II requirements for third country equivalence. The problem that this study addressed is the possible effect that the introduction of Solvency Assessment and Management may have on the sustainability of short-term insurers in South Africa. The results of a empirical component of the study indicated that small and medium short-term insurers may be negatively impacted due to the costs incurred to implement and comply with the requirements of the new regulatory framework. The effect on the South African short-term industry can be that cover is concentrated among a few large short-term insurers. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)

The financial stability of the insurers is important to fulfil its role as a risk transfer mechanism and to protect the purchasers of their products. The European Union is introducing the Solvency II to modernise the current Solvency I regime and to harmonise the different insurance legislation of the members of the European Union. Solvency II introduces an architecture consisting of three pillars, with Pillar I setting the solvency capital requirements, Pillar II the governance and risk management requirements and Pillar III the reporting requirements. The South African Regulator initiated Solvency Assessment and Management for implementation in 2016 to align the South African prudential regulatory framework to meet the Solvency II requirements for third country equivalence. The problem that this study addressed is the possible effect that the introduction of Solvency Assessment and Management may have on the sustainability of short-term insurers in South Africa. The results of a empirical component of the study indicated that small and medium short-term insurers may be negatively impacted due to the costs incurred to implement and comply with the requirements of the new regulatory framework. The effect on the South African short-term industry can be that cover is concentrated among a few large short-term insurers. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)

This study shows that managers of short-term insurers may improve their financial results if they can identify and manage the factors that are critical to their financial results. The development and application of the concept of critical success factors are therefore used as a basis for this study. The study reviews the functions performed by short-term insurers, focusing on the effect these functions have on their cash flows. Selection and pricing of risk are discussed in detail. The underwriting cycle in South Africa, and several possible causes of the cycle are investigated. Reinsurance, claims handling and rilanagement expenses are important components of the cash flows of short-term insurers and are therefore examined in detail. The optimum risk level at various combinations of underwriting and investment income is empirically tested, using the financial results of several insurers. The study investigates different approaches to the measurement of financial success of insurers, and the return on shareholders' funds is found to provide the fairest and most reliable method. Empirical comparisons are made on the financial results of the insurers that participated in the study to distinguish between those that are financially successful and those that are not. To discover what the industry consider to be their critical financial success factors, a postal survey was done of key decision makers in the South African short-term insurance industry. Respondents identified several success factors, but did not include some success factors discovered during the review of the literature. Respondents apparently experienced difficulty in separating strategic issues from operational ones. The survey revealed that the pricing of risk is problematic for short-term insurers. The importance of the investment function is also underestimated by the industry. The study concludes that the combined systematic risk of the investment and underwriting portfolios is a critical success factor, along with the capital base of the insurer, the ability of the insurer to use the leverage provided by using policyholders' funds as free reserves and the size and direction of an insurer's cash flows. / Business Management / D. Com (Business Management)