Strength, specialisation and the quiet evolution of the broker partnership

If 2025 revealed anything about Renasa Insurance Company, it is that meaningful transformation in insurance does not need to be loud to be effective.

Across a series of conversations with Renasa’s leadership, underwriting partners, and specialist underwriting managers during the year, a consistent picture emerged: one of a business that has quietly but deliberately strengthened its foundations, sharpened its focus, and deepened its commitment to brokers operating in increasingly complex risk environments.

Taken together, these discussions offer more than isolated insights. They reveal a strategic arc, one defined by financial resilience, disciplined underwriting, thoughtful use of technology, and an unwavering belief in the broker as a central pillar of sustainable insurance.

Financial strength as a strategic enabler - Perhaps the clearest signal of Renasa’s evolution in 2025 was its upgraded financial strength rating to A+, following its integration into the Telesure Investment Holdings (TIH) group. While ratings are often treated as technical milestones, the conversations this year framed the upgrade very differently – as a practical enabler for brokers.

Improved capital adequacy, stronger liquidity, and materially better claims efficiency are not abstract metrics. They translate into something tangible: confidence. Confidence to place larger and more complex risks. Confidence that claims will be honoured even in high-severity scenarios. Confidence that the insurer standing behind the policy has both the balance sheet and the operational depth to perform under pressure.

What stood out was not only the improved numbers, but how they were achieved. Integration delivered access to procurement scale, claims infrastructure, governance frameworks, and technical expertise, without disrupting Renasa’s identity or its broker relationships. Transformation without trauma became a recurring theme, and one that resonated strongly in a market fatigued by disruptive mergers and shifting underwriting appetites.

Preserving identity while scaling capability - A defining feature of Renasa’s journey has been its insistence on preserving the “Renasa way”. Despite becoming part of a much larger group, the business has resisted the temptation to centralise relationships or dilute its accessibility.

Across interviews, leadership repeatedly returned to the same principle: brokers operate in a relationship-based environment, and any strategy that undermines that reality is fundamentally flawed. Integration, in this context, was about strengthening the engine room, claims, compliance, audit, technology, while leaving the human interface intact.

This approach has paid dividends. Brokers have seen faster, more cost-effective claims processes without losing the ability to engage directly with decision-makers. Underwriting discipline has improved without rigid standardisation. And importantly, trust has been reinforced rather than tested.

Specialisation as a response to complexity - Another clear trend running through Renasa’s 2025 content was the growing importance of specialist underwriting in a risk environment that no longer rewards generalisation.

From heavy commercial vehicles and fleet risks to plant, engineering, construction guarantees, mobility solutions, and niche motor segments, the message was consistent: complexity demands expertise. Whether insuring a crane worth tens of millions of rand, structuring guarantees for a construction project, or underwriting an e-hailing fleet, success depends on deep sector knowledge and tailored risk frameworks.

In these conversations, specialisation was not positioned as a niche play, but as a strategic necessity. As infrastructure deteriorates, crime patterns evolve, and operational risks intensify, insurers and brokers alike are being forced to move beyond transactional insurance toward integrated risk solutions.

Renasa’s specialist underwriting partners illustrated how this works in practice, combining technical underwriting, risk sharing mechanisms, telematics, valuation discipline, and claims support into cohesive offerings that support broker growth rather than constrain it.