Categories: InsuranceReviews
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2022-03-29 8:22 PM

Sanlam review 2022

By William Dube
SANLAM
Type Public
Traded as SLM
Founded 1918
Address HQ 2 Strand Road Belville,
Western Cape
7530
South Africa
Industry Insurance, asset management, wealth management, investments, capital market activities, short term insurance, retirement
Serving Worldwide
Phone 227 21 947 9111
Total assets R900,2 billion
Revenue R148 billion
Website www.sanlam.co.za

Sanlam is a South African financial services conglomerate that was founded in 1918. The corporation has established itself as a global financial powerhouse with operations in numerous nations. South Africa, Botswana, Swaziland, Namibia, Malawi, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Mozambique, India, Malaysia, and the United Kingdom are among the countries where Sanlam has a presence. Sanlam also has operations in the United States, the Philippines, Lesotho, and Burundi. The company also owns a part in Micro-Ensure Holdings Limited, which services over 10 million customers and has a presence throughout Africa. Sanlam became the largest non-banking financial firm by acquiring SAHAM finances in 2018. Its presence has now spread to West Africa and the Middle East. Today, the corporation has revenues in excess of R148 billion and total assets in excess of R900 billion. It generates revenue by providing insurance, asset and wealth management, investments, and a variety of other financial services.

A brief history of Sanlam Ltd

Sanlam Ltd is a company that is a product of Santam. Sanlam was registered on 8 June 1918 as a subsidiary of Santam. The company name Sanlam is an acronym to the Afrikaans words Suid – Afrikaanse Nasionale Lewens Assuransie Maatskappij Beperk, meaning South African National Life Assurance Company Limited in English.

Sanlam consistently showed growth within its first year of existence. In the same year, it made a profit and declared a bonus. Something that is not seen every day in business. From then on the company steadily grew to a large company.

In 1954 Sanlam became an independent mutual life assurance company, as well as the largest single shareholder in Santam. Santam was then dwarfed by Sanlam but remained focused on short term insurance.

Sanlam later made a shift from being a traditional insurance provider to offering a wide range of financial products and services. By 1998 Sanlam had demutualised and was then listed in the JSE and Namibian stock exchange. Changing from a mutual life insurance company to a public company.

Today Sanlam is a multinational corporation with its interests stretching over 5 continents. It has presence in 33 African countries, USA, United Kingdom, Philippines, Malaysia and Australia.

The company has also worked hard to increase black ownership, seeing direct black ownership increasing to 18% and black economic ownership of 35%.

Sanlam limited board and executives

Executives Board MMembers
Ian Maxwell Kirk
CEO
Matrice Motsepe
Wikus Olivier
Interim CEO
Johan Van Zyl
Anton Gildenhuys
Chief risk and Actuary Officer
Sipho Nkosi
Thinus Alsworth – Elvey
CEO: Sanlam Corporate
Anton Botha
Lize Lambrechts
CEO : Santam
Ian Maxwell Kirk
Temba Irvine Mvusi
CEO : Market Development
Christiaan Swanepoel
Sydney Mbhele
CEO : Brand
Rejoice Simelane
Jeanett Modise
CEO : Human Resources
Elias Masilela
Robert Roux
CEO : Investments
Paul Hanratty
Johann Strydom
CEO : Personal Finance
Heinie Werth
Heinie Werth
CEO : Emerging Markets
Shirley Zinn
Temba Mvusi
Karabo Nondumo
Andrew Birrell
Jeanett Modise

Services and Products offered by Sanlam ltd

Sanlam offers multiple services and products for personal, businesses and corporates. Services include but are not limited to insurance, retirement, assets and wealth management, financial planning, investments etc. We will look at the services and products offered by the group.

Personal services

Personal insurance

Sanlam offers life insurance that covers personal and family needs. Insurance covers offered cover dependents, should death occur and a funeral cover to cover a burial of a loved one. You can get a quote online or via a call to speed the application process. Also, you get access to expert advice at no cost to assist you to get insured.

There is also a medical insurance facility for you and your family. Sanlam has partnered with Bonitas and Fedhealth medical schemes to provide you with a range of choice. Medical insurance premiums start from R298 per month.

You can get short term insurance that covers you for what you actually need. Insurance includes building, household, car and all-risk insurance. Sanlam helps with reviewing your short term insurance needs and makes sure you are ensured accordingly and pay for what you need.

With Sanlam gap cover insurance, your medical bill is cleared should your medical aid fail to pay the whole medical bill. Cover starts from R200 per month for individuals and R352 per month for families. You get to benefit from in-hospital and out-of-hospital benefits such as emergency casualty benefit, permanent disability, etc.

Go cover insurance, covers for accidental injuries and death. You can get this insurance cover as and when you need it. The cover can last between 24 hours to 90 days. This insurance covers up to R1,000,000.00.

Personal financial planning services

Sanlam has a wide range of financial planners. You can choose a planner that understands your finances. These are also tied financial planners who are hired by Sanlam to give advice on Sanlam products and services.

They include BlueStar financial planners who specialise in a specific financial trade and help clients with estate planning, retirement planning etc and Independent financial planners who are independent of Sanlam and sell a variety of companies’ products and services.

Financial planners are available to help with the writing of wills, Trusts and setting up Estates. This will help you in creating Estate administration when deceased and ensuring that a Trust is managed by someone you find responsible.

You can access a life coach who will help you with your finances and your credit profile. This will help in giving a boost to your credit profile or making sure that it is always good through knowledge and expert guidance.

Sanlam offers personal loans up to R200,000.00. This loan can be easily accessed with the help of a financial advisor, who will ensure that you go about the application process correctly. The advisor will help with accessing your credit profile and will assess if you are in the right financial state to apply for loans.

On the Sanlam website, you can make use of the needs assessment tool that will guide you in building wealth. This is a self-help tool that can be utilized by anyone at no cost.

Retirement

Individuals can save for retirement through Sanlam by saving regularly or by making a one-off payment. This can be done by investing in an interest yielding savings account or through stipulated annuities that can be cash out after retirement.

There is an option to ensure that you don’t cash out your retirement savings before the due date. This is called a preservation fund which helps you secure your retirement dreams. The fund yields annual interest and continues to grow.

You can save your money today by putting away a portion of your money for retirement. Sanlam has an annuity option for those with a consistent income to save for retirement. Annuities are paid by Sanlam on a monthly basis upon retirement.

Sanlam retirement fund encourages employees and employers to contribute together towards employee retirement. With this fund, you are able to add beneficiaries. Beneficiaries are taken care of should you pass on.

Personal investments

Sanlam provides an investment platform for individuals who want to invest with the help of a financial planner. One can invest in Unit trusts and other investment opportunities. Investment plans are tailor-made for you to meet some or all of your financial needs.

You can also invest offshore with Sanlam international investments. One can do this to spread the investment risk or to create a diverse portfolio. Benefits include protection against rand depreciation, microeconomic risks, investing in opportunities not found in South Africa etc.

Sanlam allows for investment for yourself or children to be able to go to school. Sanlam’s goal manager can be used to ensure that your educational goals are met with consideration to inflation, lump sum and other factors affecting your goal.

With the education calculator, you can anticipate how much your investment in education will yield providing different circumstances.

Sanlam has an online share trading facility called Sanlam iTrade Online. One can invest in shares using this platform. Through the platform, you get access to daily market reports, stockbroker forecasts, data on every listed share, ETFs, alerts and stop-loss orders etc.

With tax-free savings, one can invest from as little as R350 per month. This account doesn’t charge taxes, however, there are restrictions to adhere to. Lifetime contributions are up to R36,000.00 per month and lifetime contributions are limited to R500,000.00. These funds can be accessed at any point.

Sanlam unit trusts give you access to top financial managers to help you with your investment in unit trusts. You can invest in either tax-free unit trusts or standard unit trusts. Investment is not limited to South African blue-chip stocks but can also invest offshore using this facility.

Personal Wealth

Sanlam private wealth offers high net clients with personalised services. These services include wealth and portfolio management, stockbroking and taxation services. According to Businessday, Sanlam’s private wealth was voted top wealth management company.

Glacier by Sanlam brings experts and financial services companies to offer expansive range of wealth management services. These services include insurance, financial planning, retirement and investments to high net individuals.

Business services

Small and medium enterprises services

The Sanlam buy and sell solution helps small business when a member passes on. The company helps by assisting surviving partners with cash to buy the deceased shareholding.

This is because the deceased survivors may not want to be part of the Business or the remaining partners may not have adequate finances to buy back deceased shareholding leaving the company exposed.

Business debt insurance helps with the financial well-being of a company if a partner has signed a surety then dies or become disabled. The business takes insurance that pays out should one of the owners die or become disabled. This prevents creditors from demanding payments of the loan by the deceased estate or disabled owner.

Sanlam provides keyman insurance to ensure business owners are well-off should one of them die or get disabled. As financial security it can help a business with replacement costs.

Business can insure with Sanlam to protect company assets, business overheads, credit loan and debt loan. The insurance premiums vary from one cover to another.

The Sanlam employee wellbeing gives business owners a platform to ensure the well-being of its employees and retirement.

Corporate services

Payment and debit order collections

Sanlam Multi data has over 50 years of managing cashflow. This feature offers secure payment and debit order services to assist businesses to manage their cashflows through a web system. It’s an end to end process that collects money from debtors via debit order.

Multi data make collections and payments easy. You can pay salaries by having an adequate amount of cash in your Sanlam account. All stated payments are made as and when due. Collections are also auctioned using a debit order request when due with debicheck verification.

Insurance services to corporates

Sanlam offers insurance that helps employers protect their employees. This product helps to ensure employees and protect their families in the event of long illness or death. Group risk benefits such as life insurance, group accident insurance, disability protection insurance and group critical illness.

Corporates can get a medical scheme for its employees. Insurance provides competitive healthcare solutions. Custom offers are available taking into account the needs of the employees’ health. For example, if the company employs mine workers then cover for cardiac arrest, TB etc will be higher.

Corporate retirement services

Sanlam offer services in retirement fund administration, savings and post-retirement planning. This is to ensure that company employees are well-off beyond employment.

Sanlam shareholders

The table below only includes companies with a shareholding of 1% or more in Sanlam Ltd

Name Share percent
Ubuntu – Botho Investments 12. 5
Public Investment Corporation 11.9
Sanlam Investment Management 5.44
Su Bee Funding Spv 4.75
The Vanguard Group Inc 2.74
Comgest SA 2.71
T Rowe Price International 1.46
Northern Trust Global Investment 1.32
Old MMutual Life Assurance Co 1.21
JP Morgan Asset Management UK 1.14

Conclusion

Sanlam has timelessly proven itself to be a big international player since it became public. With acquisitions around the world, the company has cemented itself as an international player.

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William Dube

William Dube is a finance and economic news expert with over 10 years of experience in economic anaylsis, financial product assessment and market analysis. With a numerous certificates from prestigious universities including but not limited to Yale University and the University of Pennyslivenia. William specializes in providing insightful news developments in South Africa and commentary on investment strategies, risk management, and global economic trends. You can contact him on william@rateweb.co.za

Tags: Sanlam