10 Aug 2014

Botswana is counted among most of the African countries where insurance take-up is below two per cent, says chief executive officer of Old Mutual Botswana.

Speaking at the rebranding of Mutual & Federal Botswana to Old Mutual Botswana, Mr Jack Bekker said with the knowledge they had acquired over years, they hoped to improve insurance penetration in Botswana. 

He indicated that they had 23 insurance companies in Botswana comprising three reinsurers, eight life insurance companies and 12 general short term insurers.

“In Botswana, there are also approximately 41 insurance brokers and approximately 192 corporate agents and what we need is to grow the number of people who secure their lives and assets for rainy days,” he said.

He said their rebranding is in line with the philosophy of continuing to safeguard customer’s assets on rainy days, stating further that in a world where the cost of living continues to increase and household incomes continue to be under pressure, it is important to ensure that when emergencies occur, people are covered to take care of those emergencies.

“The rebranding will not impact negatively on how we do business, but rather strengthen our focus on growing our Botswana business into the future,” he concluded.

For his part, chief financial officer of Old Mutual Africa, Mr Mogam Pillay said the rebranding from Mutual & Federal to Old Mutual is in line with the company’s global strategy to consolidate all sub-brands into one strong brand across all markets.

“With over 168 years operating in Africa, 56 000 employees and 16 million customer worldwide, our aim is to offer our customers an easy and convenient one-stop-shop for all their savings, investment and risk cover needs and a total brand experience that provides peace of mind and inspires trust and confidence,” said Mr Pillay. ENDS