Liz Booth Reviews the News

This week we spoke to Liz Booth, Managing Editor of Africa Ahead: the Sustainability Challenge to get her take on the past week in insurance news.

What has been the stand-out story for you in the insurance market this week - and why?

It has to be the UN Principles for Sustainable Insurance 4th Africa summit and the launch of the Nairobi Declaration. Too often, the whole of Africa gets pigeon-holed as a poor relation, but that’s just not true. Africa does lead the way in climate issues on many occasions and this is an example of the African insurance market taking a lead in a bid to serve their customers better and to build sustainability for their own businesses.

Which news this week do you think will have the most long-term impact on the insurance profession?

Sadly, Covid-19 continues to dominate the news agenda – mainstream and for the insurance press. But from an African perspective, I think African insurance CEOs recognise the challenge that Covid-19 has caused and are stepping up.

More positively, I spoke to one Kenyan CEO this week who reported his firm, GA Insurance, has doubled its growth every year for 14 years, including in 2020 and now into 2021. It is such a positive story – and its combined ratio of between 85%-90% will be enough to make many a European insurance CEO weep with jealousy.

Who is your insurance personality of the week and why?

I will give that award to Hope Murera, CEO of ZEP-RE. She campaigns tirelessly for women to be given opportunities to prove their worth. The firm is one of the founding signatories of the Nairobi Declaration and she is a CEO who always turns words into actions.

What has been the most interesting/intriguing/surprising item you have seen in the background of any video-based calls so far this year and why?

Looking over people’s shoulders was a lot of fun until too many of them discovered ways to blur their background. But that prize goes to a female insurance executive in the London market, who shall remain nameless but who places a copy of The Joy of Sex and the Karma Sutra on her bookshelves simply to see who spots them during the call!

And finally: If you could interview anyone from the world of insurance and they had to answer your question 100% truthfully, who would it be and what would you ask them?

I would like to go back and meet the insurers of Shergar and ask: what do you really think happened?