Lessons from Infiniti’s view of risk, innovation and partnership, as taken from thought leadership published in COVER in 2025.

As South Africa’s insurance industry enters a new year, one theme cuts across virtually every line of business: complexity is increasing faster than traditional insurance models can comfortably absorb. Economic volatility, infrastructure decay, climate instability, regulatory shocks, and changing client expectations are no longer isolated risks, they are systemic pressures reshaping how insurance must be designed, priced, and delivered.

A series of recent thought-leadership articles by Infiniti Insurance Limited offers a useful lens into how these pressures are manifesting across heavy commercial vehicles, marine, aviation, SMEs, and high-net-worth insurance. Taken together, they point to several important lessons for the industry, and clear strategic opportunities for brokers willing to evolve.

Lesson one: Systemic risk is now the baseline, not the exception

From heavy haulage and marine logistics to aviation and SME operations, the common thread is exposure to systemic risk. Poor road infrastructure, high crime rates, port inefficiencies, power and water instability, extreme weather events, geopolitical conflict, and regulatory enforcement shocks are no longer “black swan” events. They are recurring conditions of the operating environment.

For insurers, this challenges traditional underwriting assumptions that rely heavily on historical loss patterns. For brokers, it raises a more practical concern: clients often underestimate how interconnected their risks have become.

The enforcement of aviation Part 43 requirements is a stark example. A regulatory decision, long on the books but newly enforced, has effectively grounded a significant portion of South Africa’s light aircraft fleet, triggering knock-on effects across training, tourism, agriculture, and maintenance businesses. The risk was not mechanical failure, but regulatory compulsion, and the insurance implications are profound.

One strategic implication is that risk conversations must move upstream. Brokers and insurers need to spend more time helping clients understand systemic exposure, not just insurable events.

Lesson two: Risk mitigation is becoming as important as risk transfer - Across multiple Infiniti insights, particularly in heavy commercial vehicles and marine insurance, there is a clear emphasis on risk mitigation as a pricing lever. Driver skill, fleet maintenance, route planning, telematics, fatigue monitoring, and proactive loss prevention are no longer “nice-to-haves”; they directly influence underwriting appetite and premium sustainability.

This reflects a broader industry shift: insurers are increasingly rewarding behaviour, not just absorbing outcomes.

For brokers, this creates an opportunity to reposition themselves as risk advisors rather than product intermediaries. Helping a client implement telematics, improve maintenance discipline, or document safety protocols can now have a tangible financial return, not just a theoretical one.

The strategic implication here is that brokers who embed risk management into their advice process will be better positioned to defend pricing, secure capacity, and retain clients in tightening markets.

Lesson three: One-size-fits-all insurance is losing relevance

Whether the client is an SME, a logistics operator, or a high-net-worth individual, the message is consistent: generic cover is increasingly misaligned with real-world exposure.

SMEs often underinsure or rely on personal policies that fail to address business-specific risks. High-net-worth clients face increasingly complex asset profiles, from smart homes and off-grid properties to fine art, vintage vehicles, and global lifestyles, that demand bespoke protection. In marine and aviation, global trade shifts and ageing assets require more nuanced underwriting and clearer policy wording. This places pressure on both insurers and brokers to design and place tailored solutions, rather than defaulting to standardised wordings.

Here we see the strategic implication being that customisation is no longer a premium feature; it is a baseline expectation in complex risk environments.

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