BusinessLive reports that the profits of insurer Clientele in the year to end June bore the brunt of increased unemployment in SA as investment withdrawals spiked and some customers failed to pay their premiums.
The insurer competes with Assupol and Hollard in the entry-level market. Clientele said withdrawals were worse than its expectations in the past year. It blamed this on the high unemployment rate and the dire state of the economy, which was affecting its clients. Clientele has a client base that is most vulnerable to severe cost-cutting measures by companies which has seen the country record mass retrenchments in the first half of 2019. Companies that have announced retrenchments in 2019 alone include miners Sibanye Stillwater and Alexkor, MultiChoice, construction firm Group Five, Absa and Standard Bank. The company is not expecting immediate change in its operating environment, but it has introduced a number of new initiatives aimed at improving its situation.
- Read the full original of the above report by Londiwe Buthelezi at BusinessLive
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