WINDHOEK – South African short-term insurer, Hollard Insurance, is blowing its own horn for having obtained 20 percent market share in the short-term insurance market in the 10 years of its existence in Namibia. Hollard operates in Namibia as Hollard Insurance Namibia.
“The past decade has seen the company grow exponentially, to a current turnover of more than N$750million per annum in gross premium income from its Namibian and Zambian operations. Average premium income growth has exceeded 31 percent per year, with Namibia and Zambia now boasting N$600 million in assets. The company’s staff complement has grown similarly, from six people in the Windhoek office to 125 employees in 12 offices, across 10 towns and two countries,” said the insurer in a statement. Hollard Insurance Namibia operations have been growing at a rate of more than 19 percent per annum in the past five years, and the company now has representation in eight Namibian towns. Hollard was founded in 2009 and currently contributes nearly 25 percent of total premium income in Namibia. In December 2012, Hollard established a life company in Zambia, following the opening of the short-term company in 2010. The Zambian operation is wholly owned by Hollard Insurance Namibia. “Hollard Insurance Namibia was established with a key pillar being that we would be our own entity – an insurance company with a local Namibian flavour. That meant employing local people and finding local solutions to our clients’ insurance issues, but still having the capacity to leverage off the experience and expertise of our South African shareholders. It is a model that offers clients the opportunity to choose insurance that relates to their needs, while also allowing us to use our entrepreneurial skills and build a local Namibian company. This innovation has seen Hollard Insurance Namibia sourcing goods and services from local suppliers even if that comes at a small premium, because supporting local business is vital,” says Hollard Insurance Namibia chief executive officer Johan Barnard.
The company has paid more than N$280 million in taxes, levies and fees over the 10 years of its existence. The past decade has also seen Hollard Insurance Namibia develop local skills, from administrative to managerial and key decision-making positions. Hollard’s foray into Namibia followed on the group’s successful venture into Mozambique, where the local operation had been able to fund its own new life licence only four years after being established. The Namibian venture saw the company adapt the business model to suit local conditions, taking into account the population density and distances between towns. A branch network has ensured better service delivery in the various regions, but this represented a deviation from Hollard’s South African model, which entailed operating on a centralised basis. The company’s eight regional branches make it the most broadly represented short-term insurer in Namibia. One community initiative of which Hollard Insurance Namibia is particularly proud is the Amos Meerkat School project – a rural farm school scheme that trains illiterate and semi-literate mothers to teach farmworkers’ children to become school-ready. Barnard says that in the first year 48 teachers attended the training, and 40 schools were established on farms by a 10-women strong team of dedicated past teachers. Looking ahead to the company’s second decade, Barnard says the company “will not stop being a catalyst for positive and enduring change in Namibia, it will not stop building and developing its team, it will not compromise its relationships because Hollard is about more than just getting things done, and most importantly, it will not compromise its risk management practices, its underwriting standards and its passion for being Namibia’s best insurer.” Hollard Group chief executive officer Nic Kohler said in marking the 10-year milestone: “We are celebrating what happens when you consistently and honestly strive to be of value for 10 years, you achieve incredible success.”
By Staff Reporter