Santam lifts first-half earnings as all business units exceed their 2024 performance

Stephen Grootes speaks to Wikus Olivier, CFO at Santam, about the half-year results for the short-term insurer. 

Listen to the interview in the audio player below. 

South Africa's largest short-term insurer, Santam has reported higher first-half earnings, with all business units contributing to the growth. 

The Group recorded a 11.3% conventional underwriting margin, a growth of 10% on the prior period.

Looking ahead, the group says it expects some relief for consumers as pressure on disposable incomes begins to ease, while its focus on higher-growth areas is set to support momentum through the rest of 2025 and into 2026.

Headline earnings per share for the period increased by 18.7% to 1 873 cents per share.

Speaking to Stephen Grootes on The Money Show, Wikus Olivier, CFO at Santam says there has been a drop in weather-related insurance claims.

"Although in the first half of this year we didn't see major weather related catastrophes, it is something that we do expect to come through in future. We've seen weather conditions much more volatile over the last number of years."

- Wikus Olivier, CFO - Santam

"We are specifically focused on initiatives such as our geo-coding initiative, which looks at the specific location of each and every property that we insure, and what is the specific risk exposures around that property, including risk flooding..."

- Wikus Olivier, CFO - Santam

"Where property is located within a flood zone where there's been numerous floods, and there's really nothing that can be done from a risk mitigation perspective, we may decide not to write the business. You can't charge enough premium to compensate for the risk."

- Wikus Olivier, CFO - Santam

Scroll to the top of the article to listen to the full interview.