Patrice Motsepe's financial services group African Rainbow Capital on Thursday launched an insurance subsidiary, African Rainbow Life, earmarked for a sector that has traditionally been under-serviced.
African Rainbow Life will focus on long-term insurance products including life cover, savings, investments, retirement annuities and funeral cover, targeting primarily the lower to middle income market.
Chief executive Bongani Madikiza said the company would provide cost effective life cover which would include death, dread disease and disability cover, as well as a cashback option. Additional products on offer would include funeral cover and savings, investments and retirement products, as well as group benefits.
Madikiza was previously CEO of Lion of Africa Insurance and managing director of the Mass Market Cluster and Corporate businesses at Old Mutual South Africa.
“Our customers are typically low to middle income earners who historically have had little access to sound financial advice or cost effective financial services products around which they can effectively plan for their financial futures,” he said.
African Rainbow Life is 51% owned by Sanlam Life Insurance, with African Rainbow Capital Financial Services holding 26% while the balance of 23% is held by Siyakhula, a management consortium that includes a staff, community and management trust.
Karl Socikwa chief executive of Sanlam Sky, a division of Sanlam Personal Finance, said the company had chosen to partner with African Rainbow Life because it recognised that a fresh culture and customer-centricity was conducive to achieving real, sustainable value-creating change and innovation needed to compete.
"We are in an era of unprecedented change for the insurance sector which includes new technologies, new customer expectations and new regulations," Socikwa said.
"Our partnership with African Rainbow Life brings together a complementary set of dynamic competencies necessary for value enhancing growth for all stakeholders in the sector.”
Co-CEO of African Rainbow Capital, Dr Johan van Zyl, expressed full confidence in the management team of African Rainbow Life to offer clients something unique.