Santam Limited, a South African property and casualty insurer and the parent company of Santam Syndicate 1918, has recorded a solid performance for the half-year of 2026 as conventional gross written premium (GWP) rose by 10%.
Splitting the GWP, South Africa remains the group’s anchor, contributing 77%, with domestic market premium up 6.4% to £805 million.
The insurer explained that it is deliberately diversifying, with GWP from international business at 23%, up from 20% in June 2025, a steady progression towards attaining the 30% as envisioned in the Group’s FutureFit 2030 strategy.
Meanwhile, conventional net earned premium rose by 6%. Santam’s combined ratio rose to 91.9%, compared to 88.7% in H1’25.
The higher ratio reflects exceptional weather-related catastrophe and large losses of £68 million, net of reinsurance, compared to £6 million in H1’25, together with a maiden underwriting loss of £10 million from the Syndicate arising from the delayed recognition of revenue under IFRS, explained the insurer.
However, Santam noted that the quality and stability of the underwriting result is still solid, as all insurance classes achieved good underwriting results, with the property portfolio remaining profitable on an underlying basis.
The results were achieved despite a challenging macroeconomic environment, investment market volatility and significant weather-related catastrophe events, and other large losses in the South African market, said the insurer.
Lastly, Santam Syndicate 1918 has additional approved Lloyd’s capacity and a “promising pipeline for the remainder of 2026” with the associated earnings expected to be recognised largely in 2027 and 2028.
Tavaziva Madzinga, Chief Executive Officer, Santam Group, commented, “The Syndicate had a strong start, concluding new incremental business with an ultimate Estimated Premium Income of £59 million up to 30 June 2026. A revised syndicate plan for the 2026 underwriting year was approved with additional premium capacity of £67 million, to allow for additional business generation during the year to date. We have also made good progress with the vesting of operational processes and the appointment of key staff, including executive management, key underwriters and Sam Geddes as Chief Executive from 1 June 2026.”
He continued, “This is a high-quality, resilient result delivered in a demanding environment. Against a backdrop of subdued economic growth, pressure on consumers and investment market volatility and after one of the most severe weather-loss periods we have seen, we held our underwriting margin above the mid-point of our target range.
“This reflects disciplined underwriting, sound expense management and continued strategic progress of our FutureFit 2030 strategy. More importantly, key performance indicators remained in line with or exceeded long-term targets. Our steadfast focus on strategic execution enabled us to successfully navigate a challenging operating environment during the period.”
“As a Group we remain focused on pricing discipline, risk selection, expense efficiencies and execution of the FutureFit 2030 strategy. We are also confident in the group’s prospects and the potential to deliver enhanced growth and profitability,” said Madzinga.
Santam expects the operating environment to remain challenging in the second half of the year, with low economic growth, pressure on disposable income, investment market volatility and the continued rate softening.
In February, the firm was granted a licence to establish a reinsurance branch office in the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City), the first BRICS-based insurer to do so.
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