Trade growth opens opportunity for insurers

Growing its footprint in Africa is a definitive goal for Associated Marine in the next few months, says chief operating officer Mike Brews. “The big influx of the Chinese markets into Africa has increased imports to African countries, while exports from many countries, especially in the mining industry, have also increased.” “There are still challenges that need to be addressed in Africa such as infrastructure and communications, but we are very positive about our outlook for the continent.” Brews says with Durban remaining the biggest port it bodes well for South African businesses wanting to increase their African footprint. But some countries continue to pose higher risk due to their individual profiles such as Zimbabwe where high rates of theft are being recorded. “Somalia remains a no-go zone due to its political instability and also the issues around piracy, while Nigeria is also deemed to have a higher risk profile.” But, says Brews, there are countries that are showing improvement such as Angola and the DRC where a lot of work is going into improving their profiles. “Communication is key in all of this from an underwriting point of view – the more we know about the risk in a country, the better position we are in to underwrite,” says Brews.