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Resilience on the Road: Redefining Risk in SA’s Transport Economy

South Africa’s transport sector faces rising hijackings, infrastructure strain, and costly delays. This article explores how insurers and underwriting managers are evolving from risk carriers to continuity partners, leveraging data, empathy, and innovation to protect supply chains and sustain economic resilience.
Written by
Nitasha Jaganath
Published on
October 15, 2025
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South Africa’s transport economy is both indispensable and under pressure. With hijackings, infrastructure decay, and rising claims costs testing resilience, insurers and underwriting managers must move beyond risk transfer to become enablers of continuity. Innovation, empathy, and strategic partnership are redefining what it takes to keep the wheels of the economy turning.

A Sector at a Crossroads - South Africa’s Heavy Commercial Vehicle (HCV) and Goods-in-Transit (GIT) sectors are indispensable to the national economy. With more than 80% of freight transported by road, the sector underpins supply chains and sustains communities. Yet its scale also makes it highly vulnerable.  

Truck hijackings remain a stubborn and escalating threat. The 2024 Cargo Theft Report by BSI Consulting and TT Club ranked South Africa among the world’s top hotspots, with sharp spikes in both Q1 and Q4 of 2024 (Cargo theft tactics and trends report 2025). In the last quarter alone, there were 413 confirmed truck hijackings, around 8 % of all fleet-vehicle thefts nationally (Fleet Crime Overview in South Africa: What You Need to Know | Cartrack ZA). Analysts further reported a 5.3 % rise in hijackings over a comparative quarter, with Gauteng, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal the hardest hit (Excellerate Services | Rising Trends: A Closer Look at South Africa's Latest Crime Statistics).

At the same time, parts shortages are extending repair times and pushing up costs, according to the South African Motor Body Repairers’ Association (Parts availability | South African motor body repairs | SAMBRA). For transporters, every day a vehicle is off the road is revenue lost but the impact on businesses and communities who depend on the goods is even bigger.

From Underwriting Depth to Digital Intelligence - Merx Underwriting Managers, founded in 2009 and underwritten by Old Mutual Insure, demonstrates how a focused specialist can evolve to meet the demands of a rapidly escalating risk environment. What began as a niche heavy commercial vehicle underwriter has grown into a full transport-risk partner, offering Goods-in-Transit cover, driver protection, emergency services, and tailored value-added solutions. For Pieta Wepener, Founder and Managing Director, continuity begins with underwriting discipline: “From the start, our focus was precision underwriting rooted in transport knowledge. Today, that same discipline is matched with AI and telematics, giving us predictive insight into where risks emerge. The blend of underwriting skill and data allows us to design cover that protects assets, livelihoods and supply chains.”

This shift from technical underwriting to data-driven foresight illustrates how insurers and UMAs can adapt to a sector in flux. It is no longer enough to write policies. The challenge is to anticipate disruption, embed efficiency, and keep economies moving.

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"Behind every claim is a person under pressure. That is why intelligence must always be paired with empathy"

Nitasha Jaganath
Head UMA Solutions, Old Mutual Insure

Resilience in Practice - Resilience is tested in the moments that matter most. That was the thinking behind Merx Assist, a 24/7 incident management centre designed to provide real-time support when insured events occur.

Chris Smit, Claims Director at Merx, puts it plainly: “When a truck is hijacked or involved in an accident, every hour off the road impacts drivers, businesses, and the communities that rely on those goods. Merx Assist was built to activate claims and emergency support in real time, so vehicles get back on the road faster. It is about making sure shelves stay stocked and communities stay fed.”

In the past year, Merx achieved a 99.4 % claims payment ratio, underscoring this philosophy of continuity over delay. But for Smit, it is not just about numbers: “Behind every claim is a person under pressure. That is why intelligence must always be paired with empathy.”

A customer echoes this sentiment: “Since partnering with Merx and using Merx Assist, our fleet’s downtime from claims has improved and emergency coordination has become seamless,” says a National Logistics Operator.

A Shared Industry Imperative - The challenges facing South Africa’s transport sector will not abate. Hijackings, infrastructure decay, climate volatility and inflation will continue to shape the environment in which insurers, underwriting managers, and operators must work. Yet within these pressures lie opportunities for transformation.

The next chapter in transport insurance must move beyond traditional risk transfer to a broader role as continuity partners. This means:

  • Predictive intelligence understanding where the risks lie,  
  • Outcome-based and usage-linked products that reward safe, efficient operations.
  • Cross-industry alliances linking insurers, UMAs, brokers, OEMs, fleets and regulators to continue to create valued-based products for the end user.
  • Claims processes designed to restore continuity

The transport economy is about more than moving goods. It is about sustaining livelihoods and enabling growth. Those insurers and underwriting managers who embrace this expanded mandate will help shape not just a safer sector but a stronger, more resilient South African economy.

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