Trade growth opens opportunity for insurers

Growing its footprint in Africa is a
definitive goal for Associated Marine
in the next few months, says chief
operating officer Mike Brews.
“The big influx of the Chinese markets
into Africa has increased imports to African
countries, while exports from many countries,
especially in the mining industry, have also
increased.”
“There are still challenges that need to be
addressed in Africa such as infrastructure and
communications, but we are very positive
about our outlook for the continent.”
Brews says with Durban remaining the
biggest port it bodes well for South African
businesses wanting to increase their African
footprint.
But some countries continue to pose higher
risk due to their individual profiles such as
Zimbabwe where high rates of theft are being
recorded. “Somalia remains a no-go zone due
to its political instability and also the issues
around piracy, while Nigeria is also deemed
to have a higher risk profile.”
But, says Brews, there are countries that are
showing improvement such as Angola and
the DRC where a lot of work is going into
improving their profiles. “Communication is
key in all of this from an underwriting point
of view – the more we know about the risk
in a country, the better position we are in to
underwrite,” says Brews.