FIA awards best insurance and investment providers

The 16th FIA Awards were announced at a gala dinner on 12 June 2014. The awards, presented by the Financial Intermediaries Association of Southern Africa (FIA), reward excellence in the offerings of product suppliers. And winners are chosen by their financial and risk adviser peers.


The 10 winners are as follows:


•Santam took both the Short-Term Insurer of the Year commercial and corporate awards

•Hollard won Short-Term Insurer of the Year: Personal Lines

•CIA Underwriting Managers won the Underwriting Manager of the Year category for the first time in three years

•Discovery collected two awards: Discovery Life, in the Long-Term Insurer of the Year: Risk category, and Discovery Health for Product Supplier of the Year: Healthcare

•Allan Gray clinched the Investment Products Single Premium category for the second year running

•Liberty Life garnered the Investment Products Recurring Premium award

•Sanlam Employee Benefits is the Product Supplier of the Year: Employee Benefits

•State-owned insurer Sasria, which protects both private and corporate insurance consumers from riot, strike, terrorism, civil commotion and public disorder losses, received an industry recognition award for its ongoing support to FIA member brokers

FIA CEO Justus van Pletzen said: “We would like to extend our heartfelt congratulation to each of the category winners at the 2014 FIA Awards. And we offer a special word of thanks to those product suppliers who continue to back the model of intermediated distribution and consistently put their clients – our members – first.

“While the FIA Awards present an ideal platform for product suppliers to be recognised for going that extra mile, we should not lose sight of the role that valuable and reputable advice plays in assisting consumers to secure their financial futures.”

FIA president Arnold van der Linde was also quoted saying: “As we celebrate the industry’s top product suppliers we should also embrace – with all of the associated responsibilities – our task to vigorously protect the free market that makes our clients’ product choices possible. Let’s never invite nor, though irresponsible actions, force the regulator to kill our industry with excessive regulation.”