Thursday, 09 February 2023 saw me step down after 6 years since my election onto the council of the Insurance Institute of Gauteng (IIG). I consider myself privileged and fortunate over this period to have had a seat at the table to contribute to the execution of the IIG, whose mandate for the last 112 years has been to serve the insurance industry and bolster its sustainability specifically within Gauteng. As I retrospect over this period where I headed up the education team, marketing team, and served as Vice-President, Deputy-President and President, the key pillars that the IIG stand for remain front and centre, and relevant:
Education: since 2017 I was ecstatic to witness hundreds of people impacted in a real and positive way through their engagement with IIG programmes. Over 150 Class Of students, more than 140 mentees from the Roots and Wings mentorship programme, over 140 students of the Insurance Leadership and Development Programme (ILDP) offered in collaboration with GIBS Business School and Henley Business School, 16 gradates of the Academic Programme (focused on guaranteed employment post a year-long internship to disadvantaged and unemployed young adults), and the thousands of CPD hours though numerous thought leadership events – all these are but examples of the groundswell of development and education the IIG has continued to deliver over the years. These outcomes have created accessible and scalable value to not just the insurance industry, but financial services overall.
Professional Networking: it’s not all work and no play: the IIG still hosts some of the most exciting events throughout the year, including Africa’s largest insurance networking event where between 1,500 and 1,800 attend the Annual Dinner. It is just one of many networking events where brokers, insurers, reinsurers and underwriting managers are able to network, foster business opportunities and galvanize relationships – many of which will last a lifetime.
Transformation: the IIG has made vast inroads into an inclusive council that is now completely representative of the demographic of South Africa. This was important for not only the IIG as an entity, but to enable its best serving the needs of the South African insurance market and its professionals who represent such a demographic spread.
Pride and Affiliation: the Institute does not just instil deep sense of affiliation, but importantly pride within industry. The importance of insurance and financial advice has never been more relevant than it is currently where capital is lean and risk exposures have magnified. Insurance in many ways provides the backbone of the economy as a whole: hedging risk and ensuring sustainability for both the private and public sector without which the cost would impact the fiscus and public debt in an uncontrollable and untenable downward spiral. Imagine the recent events of SA’s riots of July 2021, disastrous flooding in KZN in April 2022, Hurricane Ian in the USA, the impact of the La Niña’s weather cycle on property globally, the tragic earthquake in Turkey, etc without insurance protections in place? The cost would inevitably land on government to intervene and remedy, for which most public budgets would struggle to sustain. The world would take less risk with overall shrinking on economic activity and unemployment on a macro scale. The insurance sector should be proud of what it achieves on that macro global stage – and what its offered protection enables in terms of infrastructure development, innovation and core economic growth.
Furthermore, as a public benefit organisation (PBO) registered as a non-profit entity, the IIG continued to demonstrate sound financial performance and governance with clean-audited financials over the period safeguarding the R70m+ in the income statement over these past 6 years.
Those who have served the IIG along with me either in capacity as a councillor, executive councillor, co- opted councillor or ambassador: I salute you. Thank you for your contribution, your friendship, your impact on my life, and your deep desire to make a difference. I will always have the fondest memories of the achievements, the struggles, the grit and sacrifice you all demonstrated in pursuit of making the insurance sector stronger, and in consequence a better South Africa for all.
Article written by: Darryl Grater
