Santam says fire claims - mostly electrical - hit profitability of commercial property insurance

Santam says a surge in fire-related insurance claims caused by electrical faults is denting its profitability from commercial property insurance, though it pins the blame on poor wiring rather than load shedding.

South Africa’s largest general insurer said in its annual results for the year to end-December on Thursday that claims in excess of R20 million were predominantly related to fire damage. These large fire claims amounted to R422 million in 2023, 9% higher than the R388 million in 2022.

While this would likely include damage from the fires that swept across large swatches of the Western Cape as well as parts of the Northern Cape, Eastern Cape and Free State in 2023, Santam’s CEO Tavaziva Madzinga told News24 the group was specifically concerned about electricity-related infernos at commercial properties. His comments came after the group reported a 64% rise in net profit to R3.25 billion for the year to end-December on Thursday.