In the times that we find ourselves in, it is more apparent than ever that organisations need to develop sustainable solutions. Hence, we have added an eighth pillar (sustainability) to our strategic agenda. PPS is a member of the global organisation for mutual insurance businesses, the International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation (ICMIF). ICMIF celebrated its centenary last year in Rome, having been founded in Rome in 1922. A few PPS executives were privileged to attend this conference and gain deeper insights from mutuals worldwide. Mutuality is not such a common model in Africa anymore. This is somewhat surprising, given the African spirit and culture of Ubuntu (I am because you are). The essence of insurance is the sharing of risks and outcomes. In other parts of the world, the mutual model is much more common still, with almost a third of global insurance premiums going to mutual organisations. Indeed, most organisations we engaged with in Rome are among the biggest and oldest in their industries. Our big learning and takeaway from these engagements was that purpose runs very deep in mutual organisations across the globe. This resonated with us. Mutuals everywhere are serious about the sustainability agenda and their roles in climate change. We can learn from them. But more so, they are serious about purpose. As we shape our strategic agenda towards 2027, we shall challenge ourselves continuously on living our purpose, protecting the lives and livelihoods of our professional members and assisting them to live the lives they aspire to. We believe it can go further than great product solutions and Profit-Share numbers. It can and should be about financial roadmaps for the future, continuous professional development and providing a haven of context and certainty in a challenging world. Performance snapshots PPS Insurance PPS Insurance, which offers the Group’s core life insurance solutions, had a successful year in 2022, recording the highest inflows ever. This can be attributed to several factors, including the business strategy of developing and managing unique solutions for our professional members, offering a high level of personalised client service, supporting a strong network of both internal and external (independent) financial advisers and continuing to create awareness of PPS’s unique mutual model among existing and potential members. The annual premium income of new life insurance business written in 2022 in South Africa and Namibia was R297.3 million, up 8.6% on the R273.7 million written in 2021, the previous record. The nature of our income-protection and life products in the professional market that we serve is such that advice is an important ingredient in the new business process. Therefore, our (only) distribution channel is face-to-face advisers, both internal and external to PPS. About 75% of new business flows to PPS in 2022 was again due to external (independent) financial advisers. They remain essential business partners to us. The other 25% of new business was from our internally employed advisers. Gross life premium revenue in South Africa reached R5.52 billion in 2022, up 7.1% on 2021, and is supported by a low lapse rate that came in at just over 4% at the end of the year. This is industry-leading by world standards. Total gross risk claims reduced by 21% from R4.13 billion in 2021 to R3.25 billion in 2022. Sickness (health) claims still saw a 6% increase. COVID-19 sickness claims CEO’S MESSAGE TO MEMBERS 24 Leadership commentary
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