Life insurers paid out R287 billion in 2023 so far
Beneficiaries and policyholders received R287.1 billion in claims and benefits from South African life insurers in the first half of 2023.
This was revealed by the Association for Savings and Investment South Africa (ASISA), which said these payments would have reached these beneficiaries and policyholders at a time of great need.
ASISA’s long-term insurance statistics for the first six months of 2023 further showed that, despite the significant payouts, life insurers remain well-capitalised and in a solid position to honour the long-term contractual promises made to customers.
ASISA Life and Risk Board Committee member Gareth Friedlander said the life insurance industry held assets of R3.93 trillion at the end of June 2023, while liabilities amounted to R3.6 trillion.
This left the industry with free assets of R364 billion, more than double the reserve buffer required by the Solvency Capital Requirements.
Healthy reserves are a critical indicator of the health of the long-term insurance industry, ASISA said.
They give policyholders peace of mind that claims and policy benefits can be paid even during extreme market turmoil or unusually high claims.
“Life insurers displayed significant resilience over the past three years in an unprecedented operating environment marked by the effects of a global pandemic, a struggling economy and consumers under severe financial pressure,” said Friedlander.
He said assets held by South African life insurers have shown steady growth over the past three years, from R3.10 trillion at the end of June 2020 to R3.93 trillion at the end of June 2023.
The life insurance industry in numbers
| June 2020 | June 2021 | June 2022 | June 2023 | |
| Assets held | R3.10 trillion | R3.43 trillion | R3.51 trillion | R3.93 trillion |
| Liabilities | R2.76 trillion | R3.10 trillion | R3.18 trillion | R3.6 trillion |
| Free assets | R330.2 billion | R334.6 billion | R335.8 billion | R364 billion |
| Solvency Capital Requirements (SCR) ratio | 2.13 | 1.97 | 2.04 | 2.05 |
| Claims & benefits paid per half-year | R229.5 billion | R315.4 billion | R270.2 billion | R287.1 billion |
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