Old Mutual Insure’s strategy for growth is the focus in this edition of Business Day Spotlight.
Host Mudiwa Gavaza is joined by Soul Abraham, CEO of Old Mutual Insure.
According to Abraham, Old Mutual Insure experienced a strong post-Covid-19 turnaround, noting solid underwriting margins, sustained business growth and record customer satisfaction scores in 2024 and 2025.
Listen to the conversation:
Old Mutual Insure is the nonlife, or short-term, insurance arm of the Old Mutual financial services group.
Abraham noted the macroeconomic pressures facing consumers and businesses, such as inflation and rising fuel costs, which strain discretionary spend and heighten the need for affordable insurance products.
Even then, he sees a big opportunity to grow the business.
South Africa’s short-term insurance penetration rate is estimated at about 30%, significantly lower than in developed Western markets where rates sit above 60%.
Even then, rates in SA are higher than most other African nations.
Abraham emphasised the need to simplify product wording and transparency to shift customer perception of insurance from a “grudge purchase” to a vital tool for business and personal sustainability.
He sees artificial intelligence (AI) as a tool to achieve growth.
For instance, the company has looked at upgrading tools used by brokers and financial advisers in its network to scale client capacity.
This would help intermediaries to go from managing 300–400 clients up to 3,000 via AI-assisted workflows.
Throughout the discussion, the new CEO details the business’s performance, state of the industry, opportunities for growth, points of improvement, and where AI streamlines operations.
The insurance executive mentions his background as a qualified actuary, discussing how actuarial training shapes strategic thinking, risk management and scenario planning, even when moving away from technical day-to-day modelling into executive leadership.
Producer: Bulelani Nonyukela
Business Day Spotlight is an Arena Podcasts Production.
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