Catastrophe, complexity and AI: Global lessons from InsureTalk55

InsureTalk55 took place on 21 August 2025. The theme was “Global Learnings and Perspectives on Catastrophe Risks”, with Sasria leading the conversation as our headline event partner.

Hayley Clarke, Chief Actuarial Officer at Sasria, delivered a presentation on catastrophe risks and the growing global protection gap.

“We really can’t get stuck in these problems,” she said. “We need to focus on what we can do to solve them.”

Drawing on recent data and global case studies, she outlined the rising frequency and severity of natural and man-made disasters and the increasing economic losses that follow.

“Only about 30% of global economic losses since 2000 were covered by any form of insurance,” she said, highlighting the staggering 70% global protection gap.

Hayley explained that while the insured losses in developed nations may appear higher in absolute terms, the relative impact on developing economies is far more devastating. She pointed to South Africa’s own experience with COVID-19 business interruption, and the KZN riots and floods as examples of cascading events.

“We’re seeing an increase in secondary perils like floods and hail, which are smaller individually, but add up to more than primary perils,” she warned.

Social media and civil unrest

She also discussed the role of social media in accelerating civil unrest, saying platforms like Facebook and X “… have allowed the mobilisation of masses at a much greater speed than in the past.”

To tackle the crisis, Hayley outlined multiple solutions, starting with the importance of catastrophe modelling.

“No model is fully predictive,” she acknowledged, citing examples where models failed, from the Christchurch earthquake to Sasria’s own experience during the 2021 unrest, where assumptions about state security failed to materialise. She advocated for parametric insurance and risk pooling, particularly for underserved communities.

“In South Africa, droughts are over 99% uninsured,” she said.

She also discussed how governments could play a stronger role in subsidising and distributing micro-insurance solutions.

Ending on a hopeful note, Hayley emphasised that progress is possible through innovation, collaboration, and trust-building.

“Disasters have major impacts across individuals, businesses and the public sector,” she said. “Closing the protection gap is a systemic challenge and it’s going to take all of us.”

Themba Sibiya, Executive Manager of Strategy and Underwriting at Sasria, delivered a detailed and compelling presentation on managing SRCC (strikes, riots, and civil commotion) and terrorism risk in an increasingly volatile global and local environment.

“The landscape of political violence and terrorism is changing,” he said, setting the stage for a wide-ranging exploration of how these risks are shaped by socioeconomic inequality, technology and shifting geopolitical forces.

He distinguished between terrorism – often state-sponsored or ideologically driven – and SRCC, which tends to emerge from “pockets of society” addressing issues like service delivery and economic frustration.

The evolution of protest

His talk charted the evolution of protest, from the days of printed placards and radio broadcasts to the current era of instant mobilisation through social media and, increasingly, disinformation via AI.

“What compounds the challenges now is the use of deepfakes, bots and automated disinformation… people are radicalised by what they consume,” he warned.

He cited events from eSwatini to the US Capitol riot to underscore how digitally fuelled activism is reshaping the risk landscape.

Dramatic rise

Themba presented sobering statistics showing a dramatic rise in SRCC claims – up 3,000% globally over two decades – and outlined the key drivers: economic hardship, political repression, and urbanisation.

“When urbanisation pushes informal settlements next to affluent areas, it creates visible inequality,” he said, “which in turn fuels discontent.”

Themba warned of the growing interconnection between natural catastrophes and man-made unrest: “A flood washes away homes and bridges, people can’t access clinics or water, and this triggers service delivery protests.”

He called this phenomenon “compound crises,” where netcat events cascade into SRCC incidents.

Despite the gravity of the trends, Themba explained how Sasria is responding proactively.

“We’ve developed systems to track conversations on social media, monitor claims data and identify hotspots,” he said. “By overlaying this intelligence with municipal service delivery data, Sasria can better understand protest origins and plan accordingly.”

Themba concluded with a clear message: “Unless human issues are changed, we are not going to see the end of SRCC and political violence.”

Thokozile Mahlangu, CEO of the IISA, reflected (via her avatar, IISAbelle) on the success of AIE 2025, held at Sun City at the end of July 2025.

“We had almost 1 200 delegates in person… 30 sponsors, 33 exhibitors, 50 speakers and over 20 countries represented,” she said, thanking all those who made the event a success.

She introduced the launch of AIE TV, which captured real-time moments and interviews throughout the conference, now available on YouTube.

AIE 2026 early bird rates

Looking ahead, she encouraged delegates to take advantage of the super early bird rates for AIE 2026 and book accommodation early “as you know it does get filled up quite quickly.”

She also shared updates on IISA’s ongoing commitment to skills development in the insurance industry. Key initiatives include partnerships with the Institute of Loss Adjusters and the FIA to deliver sponsored development programmes for loss adjusters and brokers, respectively.

“We are making sure that there isn’t a vacuum in the industry as the older generation retires,” she explained.

In honour of Women’s Month, Thokozile closed with a powerful tribute: “When women thrive, industries grow, communities prosper and societies transform.”

Rianet Whitehead from FA News delivered her monthly media update, packed with industry insights, editorial highlights and a strong consumer warning. She spotlighted the August edition of FA News, which includes articles on cybercrime, optional extras in policies, fleet cover risks, and the rise of parametric insurance.

“One of my favourites,” she said, “is the Momentum vs Chetty case which looks at duty of care, speeding and telematics.”

She also reminded viewers about the upcoming Momentum webinar on climate change, and celebrated the growing reach of The Insurance Apprentice, now airing on SABC 3: “We’re over two and a half million views across platforms for the first five episodes.”

Rianet then shared a heartwarming recap of AIE 2025, giving special credit to Thokozile Mahlangu and the IISA team for a standout event.

She described an inspiring school engagement where learners tackled a mini-TIA task: “At first I worried we wouldn’t get participation, but it turned into one of the most high-energy sessions I’ve seen.”

Beware of scams

Rianet closed on a serious note, warning brokers about a sophisticated lead-generation scam targeting the industry. “Even after 30 years in the industry, a broker lost R12 000,” she said, reading from a cautionary letter. “If you’re pushed to pay upfront, walk away,” she cautioned.

Our regular entertainment slot was filled by singer Darren Govender, sponsored by Business and Arts South Africa (BASA), after which Christine Rodrigues, a partner at Bowmans, tackled the critical topic of contract certainty in insurance, especially when dealing with complex risks.

“Insurance is just a contract – but one amplified by regulatory requirements,” she explained.

Without clarity in the original insurance agreement, disputes can escalate all the way through to reinsurance. She stressed that inconsistencies and vague terms don’t just confuse client. They can also lead to non-compliance, reputational damage and claim denials.

“Contract certainty creates market stability,” she said, noting that both insurers and customers benefit when terms are clear and coverage is understood from the outset.

No more copy and paste

Christine cautioned against relying on outdated templates or legal boilerplate, stating, “The days of copy and paste are over.”

She urged insurers and intermediaries to highlight unusual or restrictive terms to clients clearly – especially younger or less experienced policyholders.

“Disclosure isn’t information overload. It’s making sure the client understands what’s not obvious,” she said. Examples included policy clauses around fraud or time-specific driving restrictions for younger insureds.

With increasingly layered products such as those involving Sasria, she stressed the need to clearly explain which policy applies under which circumstances to avoid disputes and ensure customer trust.

Be clear

Christine also addressed contractual relationships across the insurance value chain between insurers, intermediaries, service providers and binder holders. She encouraged the audience to ensure clarity on obligations, step-in rights and client handover in cases of termination.

“If a binder or outsource agreement ends, what happens to the clients?” she asked.

She highlighted the importance of strong internal contract management and due diligence, especially where outsourcing or premium collection introduces concentration risk.

“Premium collection is an area where we’ve already seen trouble in the past,” she noted.

Closing with practical advice, Christine outlined principles for achieving contract certainty: maintain explicit, unambiguous terms; update clauses in response to past lessons; keep accurate records of advice; and ensure that amendments and endorsements are properly documented and accessible.

“You’ve paid the school fees – don’t make the same mistakes again,” she said.

She emphasised that contract certainty isn’t just about legal compliance; it’s about reducing operational risk, building client trust, and protecting the long-term integrity of the insurance industry.

Our final speaker of the day was Mishaya Chettiar, Executive Head and Co-founder of Everything.Insure, who delivered a high-energy and future-forward talk on how marketplaces and AI are radically reshaping the insurance landscape.

“When I entered insurance eight years ago, I felt like I was stepping into a time machine,” she said, contrasting the manual, paper-heavy nature of traditional insurance with the streamlined digital systems she was used to from her tech background.

Everything.Insure, launched in 2018, set out to transform the entire insurance ecosystem – from consumers and brokers to insurers and enterprises – into a digital-first, user-friendly space.

“We wanted to prove that insurance could be just as innovative as any other industry,” she said.

The inevitable shift to marketplace

Mishaya argued that the shift from digitisation to marketplace models is inevitable. She cited Amazon, Property24 and Takealot as examples of how consumer expectations have evolved across industries.

“Marketplaces solve three major problems: accessibility, pricing and effort,” she said. Insurance, she believes, is especially ripe for this transformation: “It’s perfectly suited for digital distribution… you can’t touch it, you can’t test it – you just have to trust that the experience will deliver.”

The next generation of insurance buyers – millennials and Gen Z – demand seamless digital experiences, and once they’ve had a taste, “… they’ll never go back.”

She then introduced the company’s AI workforce: a suite of intelligent agents capable of handling underwriting, fraud detection, rating, advice and policy wording in real time.

“What would take years to train a human to do, can now be achieved by AI in minutes,” she said.

Evie, one such AI agent, can be trained on a product in under 30 seconds and respond instantly to any question from a broker or client.

She argued that AI won’t replace people, but will “… enable humans to focus on higher-order work – like strategy, product innovation and relationship-building.”

In closing, Mishaya urged the audience not to miss what she called insurance’s “Kodak moment.” Legacy processes, she warned, are the real bottleneck: “If we don’t move, others will.”

She painted a vision of an industry where consumers are empowered, brokers are digitally enabled, insurers are agile, and enterprises can offer insurance to their members or employees in days, not years.

“The future of insurance is not just digital,” she concluded. “The future is marketplaces. The future is AI. And it’s already here.”

So concluded the 55^th instalment of InsureTalk. Big thanks to our headline partner Sasria and our superb stand-in emcee, Carly Easterhuizen of EasyEquities.

InsureTalk56 takes place on 18 September at 10am. Attendance is free and earns you 2.5 CPD hours. You can register here.

To watch InsureTalk55, click on the video link below: