AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2009 | ISSUE 11

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SANT001292 It AllAdds Up275x210 8/13/09 4:02 PM Page 1

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ESSENC

E | 1 |

Did you know?

COVER: ‘It all adds up’ is Santam’s new campaign to save costs and streamline our business.

There are currently 508 000 women in South Africa who each hold a university degree – 38 500 of them are housewives. (AMPS 2008A)

45% Of South African men and 42% women agree with the statement: “The man's place is at work, the woman's place is at home”. (AMPS 2008RA)

Divorced women use lipstick more regularly (66%) than single women (38%) do.(AMPS 2008)

Only 9% of females living in South Africa have short-term insurance; 12% of men do.

Over half (64%) of South African males never visit a hair salon, while only 38% of women never visit a hair salon. (AMPS 2008RA)

COVER: ‘It all adds up’ is

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2009 | ISSUE 11

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?

VIVA WO + MEN!

“If women didn't exist, all the money in the world would have no meaning.”- Aristotle Onassis

You could say I come from a family of females,

because for every male, there are about fi ve

females! I really felt sorry for my poor dad, who

- at one stage - was totally outnumbered by women.

You see, apart from my mom, two sisters, the domestic

worker and I, even the dog turned out to be of the

fairer sex!

Over the years things didn’t change much; in fact,

the survival of our family name currently lies in the

hands of one poor guy, my second cousin. If he

doesn’t start having babies soon (and baby boys at

that!), our family name will be gone forever.

The same thing can be said of Santam these days. If

you happen to be in a Santam offi ce today, the chances

are pretty good that you may run into a female em-

ployee. Right now, women are in the majority at

Santam, accounting for 57.86% of Santam’s employee

base. I recently interviewed nine of them and was

pleasantly surprised to learn that not a single one fi t the

stereotyped image of ‘women without a voice’. They

are all strong and independent, driven and creative,

confi dent, but not arrogant. Most importantly they are

all happy and proud to be females, and have no chips on

their shoulders about competing with their male coun-

terparts or forcing themselves through the proverbial

glass ceiling.

Although men and women are obviously different

from a physical point of view, I believe that in the end

we are all the same. It doesn’t matter whether you’re

male or female: we have the same emotions, the same

worries, the same fears.

Although men and women excel at different things,

in the end, it’s about freedom. We are fortunate that

we work for a company that believes in providing equal

opportunities, where you can do any job, regardless of

your gender. In the past, it would have been frowned

upon for women to be carrying out some of the jobs

that they do in Santam today. We have women heading

up departments, women in agriculture, women in facili-

ties and even women working as panelbeaters.

We are also fortunate to live in a country where we

are free to be who and what we want to be, free to

love who we want to and free to practise whatever

religion we want to.

As we celebrate all women on National Women’s

day on 9 August, we also celebrate the great men who

support women in pursuing their dreams. Because, in

the end, we are all equal.

CO

NTE

NTS

what’s insideSantammers say...

01 | Editorial

Viva WO + MEN!

02 | Contents

04 | Calendar

Why not …read, spoil, see, visit, watch and laugh

this month and September?

05 | Message from Ian Kirk

Santam needs you.

06 | Letters

What’s on your mind? Share your thoughts, ideas

and brain waves with us. Who knows, you could win

a great prize!

07 | In short

Keeping a good credit profi le, Santam acquires

Emerald Insurance Company, South African women

making headlines, Santam is the fi rst SA insurer to

join ClimateWise.

THINK BIG12 | It all adds up

Our individual efforts may seem trivial, but when

all our efforts are added up, they can make a big

difference. Santam recently launched the ‘It all adds

up’ campaign to help save costs and streamline our

operations.

14 | Santam Agriculture looks forward to the

next 80 years of crop insurance

There is great excitement at Santam Agriculture,

because this year marks the 80th anniversary of

successful crop insurance in South Africa.

16 | Santam backs BBBEE

For many years Santam has had a strategy in place

to support transformation to meet the demands of

the business. See how we measure up.

18 | Protectors of our clients’ cargo

For the past 35 years the experts at Santam Marine

Insurance have been advising clients on insuring their

cargo and protecting themselves against the age-old

phenomenon of piracy.

20 | Santam grooms future assessors

Santam’s Technical Claim Training Academy is making

qualifi ed assessors out of more and more Santam

staff members.

“Women who seek to be equal with men lack ambition.”- Timothy Leary

“A good mentor must be a good listener.”- André Joseph

p. 14

CA

LEN

DA

R

attend...

why not?

recycle...Old magazines as gift wrap. Your gifts will look amazing, you will save lots of money and you will do your bit to save the environment!

laugh...My wife's jealousy is getting ridiculous. The other day she looked at my calendar and wanted to know who May was.

Ian Kirk’s annual road show in a city near you, from 15-18 September 2009. Watch the intranet for more details.

Santam’s fi rst Green Conference will take place during September 2009 at Head Offi ce. Watch the intranet for confi rmation of the fi nalised dates.

treat...

The woman and women in your life to a nice lunch, a big bunch of fl owers or a bottle of her favourite perfume this August in celebration of Women's Day.

plant...An indigenous tree during Arbor Week, 1-7 September 2009. Santam will be planting an indigenous tree in every province during Arbor Week.

start...

Eating healthier foods and start exercising in celebration of World Heart Day on 24 September.

Your PA or Secretary on National Secretaries’ Day on 2 September 2009.

spoil...

ESSENC

E | 5 |

Santam needs you

aword from Ian

We can never

communicate

too much.

This means staying

informed about the

real issues at hand,

and, more importantly,

about what is

expected of each one

of us to see us through

difficult times.

In many respects the

poor state of the

economy has been

a big equaliser

– companies

worldwide

are feeling its

effects. Closer

to home, the

South African

economy is

under pressure,

particularly

in the manufacturing and mining sectors,

and commercial and individual consumers

are battling. Our industry is also under big

pressure. CEOs of South African companies

consider their ability to obtain equity or

debt funding as moderately worse than

it was six months ago. This could be

attributed to ever-tightening credit facilities

in South Africa, as well as investors exiting

risky investments. There has never been a

greater need to be able to manage one’s

risk than right now.

A critical issue that all corporate leaders face today is that of successfully engaging their employees. While this is nothing new, it is especially important in trying times such as the current global economic recession, which creates concerns about job security and business continuity. All companies need to stay in touch with their employees.

The one positive aspect for us regarding

this picture is our 91 years’ experience in

the field of risk management. Our people,

technical expertise, knowledge, experience

and entrenched risk management culture,

as well as key strategic business decisions,

have made us an industry leader over the

past 91 years.

So, what do we do to weather this

storm? I have said it many a time before:

we need to manage our business tightly, in

order to capitalise on all the opportunities

that present themselves in these times. It is

a simple case of it all adding up.

In our efforts to live our values, we

now need to start thinking big about any

wastefulness on our part. We need to

embrace new initiatives to conduct our

business more efficiently, and we need to

inspire each other to become more cost-

conscious. In doing so, we need to hold

each other accountable for our actions.

In the same way that you and your team

work with your leaders every day to find

answers on how to improve yourselves,

the senior leaders also recently listed a few

things that we need to address as a team. I

would like to share some of these with you,

because I think there is a match to your

daily issues, and I want to assure you that

these are the things that should drive our

business:

How are we planning to cut our

management expenses?

What are we doing to increase our

market share and develop new market

opportunities?

How are we dealing with fraud?

Are we delivering value to all our lines

of policyholders, from personal to niche?

How accurately do we determine and

price risks given the current market

conditions, and how do we ensure that

the correct price for the risk is the

right price?

How can we minimise the incidence and

impact of claims?

Do we have additional procedures in

place to ensure proper risk management

and good corporate governance?

Are there projects that we should not

be working on?

I am looking forward to engaging with all

of you in the upcoming month when I do

my annual staff road show in all the regions.

I want to encourage you to start thinking of

questions you have on your mind about the

business and how you can make a difference.

I want to know your concerns and the issues

about which you need more clarity. I regard

my engagement with each of you as a key

component of our plan to face the economic

storm.

Santam needs all of us to be part of the

solution. While the “it all adds up” campaign

will go some way to getting across the

message of staying prudent, each one of

you needs to support each other, give

guidance where it’s needed to succeed, and,

more importantly, ensure you engage each

of your leaders on unique ideas that will

ensure our future.

Selven Govender, Heindricght

Plaatjies, Karen Muuren, Mrs

Price, Mosidi Shomang (front),

Dutch van Eck (behind Mosidi),

Lourens Joubert (front), and Roy

McGrath (behind Lourens).

LETT

ERS

WRITE AND WINtakenote!

Anything to say? Write to us! You can e-mail, fax, mail or hand-deliver your letters to Essence. Letters will be treated as confidential and your name will not be revealed if you request that, however Essence must have your real name and address. Letters of 250 words and less will receive preference. Please note: Essence reserves the right to edit letters.

Congrats on a wonderful issue of Essence (June/July). It’s funky, informa-tive, fun and just a bit different. I really enjoyed the read, and will keep paging through it in the next few weeks.

Neil Slabbert, Audit & Forensic Services

CONGRATULATIONS!

Vash’s Mini, waiting to

be repaired.

Hear! Hear! for honest clients

Vash’s Mini, waiting to

be repaired.

Selven Govender, Heindricght

Plaatjies, Karen Muuren, Mrs

Price, Mosidi Shomang (front),

Dutch van Eck (behind Mosidi),

Lourens Joubert (front), and Roy

This message is actually a plea. We Santammers here in

Welkom are a very close-knit team. Although there are only

six people in our office, our team leader, Pravashnee (Vash)

Naidoo, ensures that we get together at least once a month.

Vash joined Santam at the beginning of the year and

accepted the Santam brand with pride and honour. She is

a real asset to Santam – especially for the Welkom branch.

Her co-workers are very fond of her, as are our clients and

brokers. Nothing is ever too much for Vash – she is always

willing to help anyone, whether it’s her job or not. She takes

ownership of each thing she tackles.

Our small little team at Welkom heard that Vash is very

fond of the Santam Mini Cooper. She even bought one

(albeit an older model), which is currently standing at her

house, because it's not in driveable condition. We know

that Vash would do the Santam brand proud if she could

have an opportunity to drive the Santam Mini.

We thought that since the Welkom branch’s offices

will soon be moving to new premises, it would be great

if the Santam Mini Cooper could be parked in Welkom’s

main road every day for three months. Your kind consid-

eration of this request will be greatly appreciated.

Welkom Santammers

*Thank you for the great suggestion! It’s great to know that Santammers are proud of our yellow brand and of the Mini. Unfortunately, the Mini promotion ended last year and the two Minis are now being used full-time to service the Yell-for-Yellow desks at Head Office and Illovo. Ed.

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

One of our clients, Mrs Price, an old lady from Pretoria recently lost her hearing aid. Knowing she had lost it in her home, she was reluctant to submit a claim. After a month of searching, she finally gave up and submitted a claim. We received her claim and she was subsequently paid out R15 000, less the R500 excess.

A couple of days later her part-time domestic assistant discovered the hearing aid in the back crease of one of the dining room chairs. In the attempt

to recover the aid, it unfortunately fell and broke.Mrs Price phoned us to return the money we paid her, and submitted the broken aid to be fixed instead. An agency repaired the aid for a fee of R3 800. She later phoned us to pay the difference - R11 000 – by cheque.

We decided to host a function in Mrs Price’s aid for her honesty at our offices.

"One day when I’m old, I’m going to be just as

smart as the Santam Mini."

Dutch van Eck, Manager, Insurance Services Pretoria

Client-service suggestionI’ve read the latest edition of Essence; what a great magazine it is! It really was a pleasure reading it. I have one suggestion: why don’t you do a story on Santam’s client service reception area in Claims and Assessment Services? For 11 years I’ve worked at the service point reception area where I’ve witnessed many clients walking through the doors. I think it would make a great story, since Santam is moving towards client-service and centricity.

Petra de Swardt, Cape Town Claims Administration and Assessment Services

*Thank you for the compliment Petra! It really is great knowing that staff read Essence and that you have great ideas to make the maga-zine even better. We will most certainly follow up on your suggestion. Look out for future editions! Ed.

Rest insured

king!Santam isGOOD CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

CLIENT CENTRICITYFIA AWARDSGOOD CORPORAT

CLIENT CENTRICITYFIA AWAWA ARDWARDW S

Proud ambassador of the Santam Mini

ESSENC

E | 7 |

It’s offi cial – Santam is the fi rst South African and African insurance company to join ClimateWise – a network formed by leading insurers worldwide to infl uence debate and decision-making on climate change.

Santam’s decision to join ClimateWise

is based on its pro-active stance on

addressing climate change. Through

ClimateWise, Santam will have a

voice at the United Nations climate

change negotiations in Copenhagen in

December this year.

ClimateWise currently has 40 members

around the world and is represented

on three continents: Europe, North

America and Africa. Its members all

strive to deliver actions that are guided

by the ClimateWise Principles, namely to:

• Lead in risk analysis

• Inform public policy-making

• Support climate awareness

• Incorporate climate change in

investment strategies

• Reduce the environmental impact

• Report and be accountable

“Climate change cannot be ignored

or avoided and there are limits to how

much climate-risk can be transferred

to the insurance industry. As a

Santam SA’s first insurer to join ClimateWise

SANTAM ACQUIRES EMERALD INSURANCE COMPANY

SA warned on duty to women and children

society we need to reduce the risk of

environmental catastrophes occurring

in the longer term. At Santam we are

serious about our journey. We believe

every small act is important, as it all

adds up. Therefore, we are keen to

learn from like-minded peers in the

ClimateWise group. We also want

to work with them to address the

risks, and then share with our clients

opportunities to make a positive

impact,” says Hendri Nigrini, Executive

Head of Risk Services at Santam.

Andréw Torrance, ClimateWise

Chairman, said he is delighted

to welcome Santam: “Climate

change demands an urgent and

transformational change in the way we

manage our global economy. There is

a climate crisis, which poses a systemic

risk to the global economy, which

must be tackled now. ClimateWise’s

members - leading insurance industry

par ticipants drawn from right across

the globe - understand the need for

action and will continue to inf luence

the debate to achieve this.”

ClimateWise is facilitated by the

University of Cambridge Programme

for Sustainability Leadership and

operates as a sectoral initiative of The

Prince of Wales’s Corporate Leaders

Group on Climate Change, driven by

the insurance industry.

Despite the short-term insurance industry currently facing challenging conditions, Santam is continuing to Think Big. Its latest acquisition is local property and haulage specialist, the Emerald Insurance Group’s insurance (Emerald Insurance Company) and underwriting business (Emerald Underwriting Managers), subject to, inter alia, the approval of the Competition Tribunal and the Financial Services Board.

Growing from its origins within the Super Group business as a local property and haulage specialist, the Emerald Insurance Group has offered insurance to a large number of corporate property and engineering clients in Africa since 2000.

Through the successful acquisition of Emerald, Santam will now achieve even greater innovation and flexibility in addressing the needs of the Corporate and Specialist business environment and diversify its insurance book.

Besides maintaining peace and fighting crime during next year’s Fifa Soccer World Cup, the South African Police Service will have the added challenge of detecting whether women and children are exploited for sex or labour.

Luis CdeBaca, Director of the United States (US) Office To Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, has warned South Africa not to allow the problems of human trafficking to eclipse the excitement of the World Cup.

According to the US State Department’s 2009 Trafficking in Persons Report, South Africa was taken off the watch list of countries doing little to combat human trafficking.

IN S

HO

RT

Time is running out for FAIS representatives who were appointed before 1 January 2008 and who do not yet fulfi l the necessary National Qualifi cations Framework (NQF) requirements. The deadline is 31 December 2009.

In terms of the Financial Advisory and

Intermediary Services Act (FAIS), FAIS repre-

sentatives have to hold certain qualifications.

FAIS representatives who render advice in

terms of short-term personal lines business

need to have 30 NQF level-4 credits. Those

who render advice in respect of short-term

commercial lines business require 60 NQF

level-4 credits.

If you don’t meet these requirements and

you are a FAIS representative who joined

Santam before 1 January 2008, the FAIS

Act requires that Santam (as an authorised

financial service provider), remove you from

its register of representatives. This will affect

your ability to render advice and, ultimately,

your ability to perform the tasks for which

you were employed.

If you are in a FAIS-related position,

please ensure that you: Check how many credits you have

by going to mylife>destiny self-

service>education/fais history Contact Michael Brand of Santam’s

Human Resources Department via

e-mail (Michael.brand@santam.co.za)

if you have completed any FAIS-related

courses or gained qualifications that are

not reflected. You need to provide HR

with a certified copy of your qualifica-

tions. If you have not completed any FAIS-

related qualifications, please click on

the EVP icon on the intranet homepage,

then click on study assistance and next

on service providers. Have a look at the

programmes offered through PSG and/

or Imfundo.

COMPLYtakenote!

Please help Santam comply with the

FAIS Act by making sure you have

the necessary FAIS credits.

Time is running out for FAIS representatives who were

Are you FAIS fit?

Gill Marcus is the fi rst South African woman

to be appointed as governor of the South

African Reserve Bank (SARB). She will

replace governor Tito Mboweni from

9 November this year. The ANC said the

appointment of Marcus as the fi rst female

governor of the SARB demonstrated the

Government’s commitment to gender

equality.

“A progressive thinker, she will be bringing

to the Bank fi nancial systems towards

ensuring the achievement of economic

growth,” the party said in a statement.

Reserve Bank gets its first female governor

South African

Pretty Yende, a 24-year old graduate of

the University of Cape Town’s School of

Music has achieved a world fi rst by taking

home the main prizes in the prestigious

International Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing

Competition held in Vienna,

Austria, recently. It is the

fi rst time in the 25-year

history of the competition

that one singer has won

all fi rst prizes in the main

categories.

Pretty is a sublime

soprano who won the fi rst

prize awards in the opera

and operetta categories

and took home the

Audience Prize, as well as the

International Media-Jury Prize.

World-first for sublime South African soprano

International Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing

Competition held in Vienna,

Audience Prize, as well as the

All the widows of a polygamous Muslim

marriage will be entitled to claim from their

husband’s estate if he dies without a will,

the Constitutional Court ruled recently.

Previously, the Intestate Succession Act

recognised only one spouse, making it

diffi cult for all the widows in a polygamous

marriage to make a claim.

The ruling came after widow Fatima

Gabie Hassam was told by the executor

of her late husband Ebrahim’s estate

that the intestate law only recognised “a

spouse” relating to the marriage she had

with her late husband Ebrahim. He had

been married to both Fatima and Mariam

Hassam, but when he died in 2001 his

death certifi cate showed that he was

never married.

The court ordered this change be made

retroactive to 27 April 1994.

Victory for Muslim first wives

Santam’s claims paying ability highly rated

Global Credit Rating Company (GCR) has accorded Santam a domestic ZAR cur-rency claims paying ability rating of AAA (triple A). This is the highest rating that can be attained by an insurance company. Furthermore, a domestic ZAR currency long-term subordinated debt rating of AA- (double A minus) was assigned to Santam’s R1bn subordinated debt issue. This is indicative of very high credit quality and strong protection factors.

The ratings were underpinned by Santam’s leading position in the South African short-term insurance market, com-plemented by its strong brand and highly

experienced management team. Santam has maintained comfortable solvency measures, particularly in view of the high degree of diversification in the business. The R1bn in subordinated debt, which is recognised as secondary capital, enhances solvency and policyholder security. At the end of the 2008 financial year, the gross gearing ratio amounted to 21%, while the company was ungeared on a net basis. Santam reflected sound debt serviceability ratios from a profit-after-tax and operating cash flow perspective.

*Source: FA News

Award-winning South African actress

Charlize Theron has teamed up with

the Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC)

Chelsea to bring soccer opportunities to

underprivileged children in South Africa.

The three-year commitment between

Theron’s Africa Outreach Project and

LAFC Chelsea will see the development

of a community-wide soccer programme

for schools in the uMkhanyakude District

of KZN.

Theron, a United Nations Messenger for

Peace, hopes that, ultimately, the Project

will create safer, healthier lives

for impoverished children

and their families in South

Africa, especially those

suffering from HIV/Aids.

Charlize reaches out to underprivileged children in SA

Santam’s claims paying ability

Global Credit Rating Company (GCR) has accorded Santam a domestic ZAR cur-

welldone!

Eleven-year-old Sobahle Mkhabase lives in a

township, but is headed for the red carpet

as the star of a new South African fi lm, My

Secret Sky. It tells the story of a brother and

sister whose mother dies, prompting them

to leave their village in rural KZN for the

bright lights of Durban. Fighting to survive on

the streets, the young girl, played by Sobahle,

meets an adult she believes will be her

benefactor, but who turns out to be a pimp.

She only narrowly escapes being raped.

In the same way as the character she plays,

Sobahle, has no contact with her father. She

lives with her mother in a modest home in

the Durban township of Chesterville. Her

performance won the best actress award at

Spain’s Tarifa festival, where the fi lm also

picked up the Audience Award. My Secret

Sky is currently showing in cinemas

countrywide.

Young rising star Victory for Muslim first wives

ESSENC

E | 9 |

Charlize reaches out to Charlize reaches out to

The better your credit and claims history,

the better your position to negotiate better

premiums is.

It has been proven that those

consumers who tend to default on

payments with other credit institutions

are at greater risk of having higher

claims ratios, than those who do not

default.

If you have taken out insurance, it is

important to make sure you manage

your insurance claims in the same way

in which you manage your credit and

risk profile with credit institutions.

By managing your claims ratio (your

total claims as a percentage of the

total premiums paid), you will be able

to negotiate a good premium when

you need to renew your policy, or when

you consider moving your insurance to

another company.

Some useful tips to manage your

claims ratio: Do not claim for small items where the

loss is slightly higher than your excess

payable Do not lend your car to friends or

family, especially if the driver is known

to be reckless

Take pride in your assets. Just

because something is insured does

not mean that you may treat it with

disrespect Keep small high-value items such as

rings and watches locked away in a

safe, away from prying eyes If you have an excessively high claims

ratio, or if you claim frequently, you run

the risk of having your policy screened

(corrective underwriting procedure)

or even cancelled. This would also

make it extremely difficult to get new

insurance or negotiate good premiums

with your insurance company.

Keep a good credit profile

GETTING MORE BANG FOR OUR BUCK

Group Sourcing is one of the

new initiatives that evolved from

it; and to date it has delivered

benefi ts worth R30,1 million.

Group Sourcing is headed by

Ebrahim Asmal, supported by a

management team comprising

Robert ter Borg, Letitia Jentel and

André Lotz. “The focus of the

team is to drive synergies within

the Sanlam Group by getting the

best possible value-for-money on

our combined spend on goods

and services procured externally.

The key in all sourcing activities is

to obtain improved service levels

at better value – essentially it

amounts to us getting more bang

for our buck,” says Ebrahim.

“In previous editions of Essence

we gave you an overview of

IN S

HO

RT

Santam Direct offers

excellent rates and

unrivalled service to all

Santam employees.

Please contact

0860 110 728 for more

information.

SERVICEScontactWhen you apply for insurance, the fi rst thing an insurance company will do is to determine

your risk profi le. One way of doing it is to look at your credit profi le and claims history.

It has been 18 months since the co-operation programme between Sanlam and Santam, Programme Helix, began to promote growth and unlock value for the Group through revenue and cost synergies.

initiatives launched in Phase 1 of

Strategic Sourcing, involving Travel,

Facilities Management and Human

Resources.

Most of these were implemented

with a number of contracts

fi rmly in place and have delivered

great benefi ts to our business. In

phase 2, we’re adding initiatives

in the Professional Services and

Marketing categories. The goals

for the phase 2 initiatives, across

all categories, are as ambitious as

always and we are looking forward

to adding a further benefi t to the

Group,” adds Ebrahim.

One Group – several businesses working together“The benefi ts of a strategic

sourcing capability are not only

limited to the bottom-line,”

says André Lotz. “IT Shared

Services (ITSS) is a case in

point. Although the ITSS was a

separate initiative in the Helix

stable, the reality is that IT buys

both goods and services. To

fully utilise opportunities that

may arise, the two groups need

to work together. It’s great to

see how people now look for

opportunities to collaborate and

to share opportunities as well as

expertise. We are already seeing

a strong positive shift in attitudes

and behaviour,” concludes André.

FROM LEFT: Ebrahim Asmal, Letitia Jentel, Robert ter Borg and André Lotz

DRAF

TFCB

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WN

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85/2/E

It all adds up

Ou

r bu

sIn

ess

Have you ever packed your bags for a holiday, only to discover at the airport that you are way over your baggage weight limit? Only when you start unpacking your bags do you realise how much all of the lightweight items weigh together.

Likewise, at Santam, our individual efforts may seem trivial, but when all our efforts are added up, they can make a big difference. This is the key message of our new “It all adds up” campaign.

Shared responsibility“We want everyone to get more involved.

Santam has the knowledge, experience and

the right people to ride out the challenges

presented by the economic slump. We need

their feedback and pledges to save costs and

ensure Santam remains sustainable. A pledge

can be something small, such as promising

only to print when it’s absolutely necessary

and to make duplex instead of single-page

printouts. You can pledge to have telecon-

ference meetings, instead of flying from one

meeting to the next,” adds Adriaan.

The campaign talks about bigger issues,

such as our culture and the role each

Santammer has to play to combat industry-

specific and socio-economic challenges.

“The campaign has been developed to

“There is potential for great

brands on the other side

of the current economic

turmoil. Among the things

that count in Santam’s favour is the fact that

we have weathered such storms in the past

90 years, grown stronger and now have a bag

of tricks that worked in the past. As is the

case elsewhere in our industry, we are also

experiencing an increase in the number of

short-term insurance claims. Although the

result is that our underwriting margin is under

pressure, one thing remains constant: people’s

ability to grow from adversity,” says Adriaan.

There is a silver lining though. Global Credit

Rating Company (GCR) recently accorded

Santam a domestic ZAR currency claims pay-

ing ability rating of AAA, which is the highest

rating that can be attained by an insurance

company. Then there’s our strong market

share that gives us a high degree of diversifica-

tion and greater flexibility to price for risk,

while we can reap the benefits from sustain-

able cost efficiencies.

“The aim of the “It all adds up” campaign is

to make Santammers aware of their ability and

responsibility to help the company save costs,

and to show that sometimes we already have

the answers, and need not look for them in

expensive textbooks. We need to start Think-

ing Big about any waste as we do business, we

need to Embrace new initiatives to conduct

our business more efficiently and we need

to Inspire each other to become more cost

conscious and by doing so keep each other

accountable for our actions,” adds Adriaan.

essenC

e | 13 |

IAN’S ROAD SHOW IN AN AREA NEAR YOU IN SEPTEMBER THIS YEAR.IAN’S ROAD SHOW IN AN AREA NEAR YOU

LOOK OUT FOR

1 Don’t print e-mails unnecessarily. If you do have to print, make sure you do so on both sides of the page

2 Avoid flying by rather having teleconferences

3 Request more than one quotation from suppliers

4 Rather drink tap water than bottled water

5 Use scrap paper to fill cubes on desks

6 Rather use couriers than using overnight post

7 Make flight bookings long in advance to get discounts

8 Become active in reporting misuse or suspected fraud by contacting one of the following:

ers on issues that are pertinent to their

specifi c areas. The golden thread that

will run through all presentations will be

the fact that it all adds up and that every

Santammer has a critical part to play in

our company’s success.

Our CE reminds us regularly that Santam

is a unique business in terms of the quality

of our relationships with our intermediar-

ies, our diversity, our technical skills and

our ability to attract, retain and develop

top talent in the industry. The fl ight to

quality that comes with tough economic

times should benefi t Santam in terms

of business fl ow and people. If we can

successfully instill a culture of “It all adds

up” in Santam, we should reap generous

dividends,” concludes Adriaan.

take into consideration those issues that

affect the delivery of our corporate strat-

egy, while allowing us to talk about our

vision and values in every-day words,”

adds Adriaan.

Part of the solution“We are also acknowledging that Santam

does not operate in isolation, but that it is

part of the South African fi bre. We want

staff to be part of the solution. The only

way we are going to achieve this is to suc-

cessfully match staff members’ expecta-

tions with pressing business needs,” adds

Adriaan.

“It all adds up” will also be the theme of

Ian Kirk’s next series of road shows when

he will interact with internal stakehold-

Essence spoke to newly-appointed Head of Communication, ADRIAAN BESTER, who is the driving force behind this campaign to help Santam save costs and streamline its operations.

HERE ARE A FEW IDEAS OF PLEDGES YOU CAN MAKE TO SAVE COSTS:

forensicservices@santam.co.za Fraudline: (SA) 0860 600 767 (Nam): 0800 002 020 SACIB: 0860 00 2526 Fax: 021 915 8197

SANTAM AGRICULTURE

Many a farmer knows the only certainty in agriculture

is that nothing is certain. The next crop may be successful

or it may not; similarly, a farmer’s risks are as

unpredictable as the weather. With 91 years’ experience in

the insurance industry and specialist knowledge of crop and asset insurance, Santam

Agriculture is leading the way with the latest products

and services in the fi eld of agricultural insurance.

AG

RIC

ULT

URE

looks forward to the next 80 years of crop insurance

ESSENC

E | 15 |

Santam Agriculture

recently underwent a

transformation, inspired

by the natural elements of sun,

water and earth. Tobias Doyer,

head of Santam Agriculture, takes

a nostalgic look at the history of

agricultural insurance in South

Africa.

Insurance and farming go hand in handWhen Santam’s short-term insur-

ance book was consolidated with

the long-established crop insur-

ance business of ARS (previously

Sentraoes), it heralded an exciting

new era in agricultural insurance

at Santam Agriculture.

That was some years ago.

Today, there is great excitement

at Santam Agriculture, because

this year marks the 80th anniver-

sary of successful crop insurance

in South Africa.

Growing needsIn the 250-odd years before

farmers in South Africa had

access to crop insurance, they

were vulnerable to experiencing

disappointments and losses due

to fi res and hailstorms, not to

mention wars and battles.

By the 1920s farmers realised

that farming without having the

necessary insurance was as risky

as jumping from a plane without a

parachute.

Farmers soon required an eco-

nomic agricultural organisation in

which producers and consum-

ers could work together to the

benefi t of all parties.

The year 1929 will always be

one of the most important dates

in the history of crop insur-

ance. The Conquered Territory

Mutual Hail Insurance Society

was established that year as the

fi rst hail insurance organisation.

In those days, reinsurance was

out of the question and farmers

gradually realised that they had

to insure their crops against hail

and other natural disasters. In

1951, the “Boere Hael Assuran-

sie” and Sentrakas managed to

secure some reinsurance through

Santam –offering their members

guaranteed insurance. Sentraoes

was established in 1970 by

consolidating the hail portfolios of

the afore-mentioned businesses.

In 2000, Sentraoes and CUAS

merged to form ARS.

A complex scienceIt was in the late 60s in particu-

lar that a revolutionary form of

crop insurance was introduced.

Insurers realised that insuring a

farmer’s crop is an extensive and

complex science. Aspects such as

effective soil depth, soil compac-

tion, moisture content, most

suitable planting dates and dif-

ferent cultivars are only a few of

the many aspects that need to be

taken into consideration. Pioneer-

ing work was done, notably in the

fi eld of hail insurance.

Today, Santam Agriculture is the

only short-term insurer in South

Africa with an experimental farm

where tests are carried out on

various crops to determine cor-

rect underwriting methods, to

enable farmers to select the right

insurance for their needs.

Santam Agriculture’s new client-

centric approach to short-term

insurance, including new risk-

management initiatives and an im-

proved claims service, means that

clients in agriculture are offered

more fl exible and transparent op-

tions. Santam Agriculture’s new

team of experts and products

support all the needs of the mod-

ern farmer, including liability cover

for labour disputes, and crop and

asset insurance.

A bright futureThe success of the past

80 years can accordingy to

Tobias largely be ascribed to the

support of loyal clients. “We

are at the start of a new season

and, as with the global economy,

must prepare ourselves for a

challenging year. It is in times such

as these that our experience

enables us to put the necessary

measures in place to meet chal-

lenges successfully.

Despite our age, we are young

and innovative in our thinking.

We also have the necessary

energy and passion to provide

our crop and asset insurance

clients with prompt and correct

advice and assistance for the next

80 years!”

“Today, Santam Agriculture is the only short-term insurer in South Africa with an experimental farm”

Santam is finalising a special commemorative book on 80 years of crop insurance in South Africa. Please contact Hannes du Plessis on 082 900 9409 for further information.

DID YOU KNOW?

farmer’s crop is an extensive and for labour disputes, and crop and

TOBIAS DOYER

Head of Santam Agriculture

OU

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Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) legislation was introduced post-1994 to ensure that black South Africans are enabled to participate fully in the economy. While much has been achieved since then, there is still much to be done, especially on the economic front.

SANTAM BACKS BBBEEEverybody gets a piece of the pie

Santam’s Company Secretary, SANA-ULLAH BRAY spoke to Essence about Santam’s BBBEE status and initiatives.

ESSENC

E | 17 |

Meeting the demands of the business environment“For many years Santam has had a strategy

in place to support transformation - it makes

good business sense to transform in order to

meet the demands of the business environ-

ment. Although legal compliance is ensured by

the strategy, it is not what drives it primarily. If

you consider the environment we are part of

and our future client base, then for the long-

term growth, profitability and sustainability of

Santam, it is very important that we focus on

transformation,” says Sana-Ullah.

The passing of the BBBEE Act in 2003 has al-

lowed for the development of Codes of Good

Practice that provide a framework against

which companies can measure their BBBEE

progress.

“The higher companies are rated in terms of

these seven measures, the better their pros-

pects of government choosing to do business

with them are,” adds Sana-Ullah.

“We also need to position ourselves as a

company that people from diverse back-

grounds want to work for, and as a brand that

diverse clients want to be associated with. Our

transformation efforts are therefore actually

aimed at securing the future of all Santam-

mers,” says Sana-Ullah.

In February 2007, Santam formally an-

nounced its intention to facilitate a BEE acquisi-

tion of an effective 10% ownership in Santam.

In terms of this scheme, Santam shareholders

sold 10% of their Santam shares, held by them

as at 21 May 2007, to a dedicated BEE com-

pany for a cash consideration of R82 per share.

The BEE company (Central Plaza Invest-

ments 112 (Pty) Ltd (“Central Plaza”)) became

the registered holder of approximately 10% of

the issued shares of Santam.

These shares would be held by three trusts: 26% by the Emthunzini Staff Trust to en-

sure that a meaningful portion of Santam’s

equity is owned by black staff and that they

have a worthwhile role in Santam’s

operations, management and development

25% by the Emthunzini Community Trust

to allow Santam to be truly broad based

to uplift black people in the broader com-

munity

49% by the Emthunzini Business Partners

Trust to benefit strategic business partners

of Santam and enable them to participate

(at ownership level) in the future growth

of Santam.

Sanlam funded the acquisition of the shares.

Dividends received by Central Plaza from the

Santam scheme shares would be used to serv-

ice the debt. The Santam scheme shares held

by Central Plaza would be “locked-in” until

28 February 2015.

After the “lock-in” period: A major portion of the Santam shares will

be sold to settle all outstanding debt.

Central Plaza will distribute all remaining

Santam shares proportionately to the three

Emthunzini trusts.

The three Emthunzini trusts will distribute

the remaining Santam shares to participants

in accordance with the rules of each trust.

Emthunzini Staff TrustSantam successfully made the first allocations

from the Trust to staff during the first week of

December 2007. Allocations were made in the

form of units in the Staff Trust.

The appointed independent and staff trustees are:

Dr Namane Magau (Chairman)

Raisibe Morathi

Jerry Chetty

Dumisani Ndlovu

Temba Mvusi (to be appointed)

The objectives are twofold: Firstly, to spread

the ownership of Santam. Secondly, it is a ben-

efit which should help attract talented black

staff to Santam.

Emthunzini Community TrustThe trustees of the Emthunzini Commu-

nity Trust are to identify specific community

projects as recipients of Community Trust dis-

tributions. Although it was originally envisaged

that this Trust would benefit from interim ad-

vances based on dividend income, the income

has been used primarily to service the debt,

given the current economic environment.

The Trustees who have been appointed are:Amelia Jones (Chairman)

Bishop Malusi Mpumlwana

Prof. Thandabantu Nhlapo

Dr Namane Magau

Themba Gamedze

Emthunzini Business Partners TrustBeneficiaries of the Business Partners Trust are

to include qualifying black short-term insurance

brokers and Santam’s qualifying strategic busi-

ness partners in terms of required criteria.

The appointed Trustees are:Dr Eltie Links (Chairman)

Dines Gihwala

Bunguza Peter Vundla

Alwyn Reginald Martin

All Trustees meet as required and the

requisite Trustee training has taken place. It is

important to note that all trustees operate in

the best interests of the trusts and separate

to Santam; the governance of the Emthunzini

Trusts is of utmost importance. The trust

deeds governing the trusts make provision

for protector services to ensure the correct

checks and balances are in place.

“We concluded this BBBEE deal because

we believe that it will be good for Santam.

Successful transformation will make for a much

stronger, more competitive Santam and that

will be good for all Santammers. It will also en-

able us to participate in, and contribute to,

the South African economy sustainably,”

concludes Sana-Ullah.

Ownership of the company (shares

owned by black people)

Composition of the executive and of the

board (representation of black people and

black women on the board and on exco)

Employment Equity (representivity of black

staff at all levels throughout the business)

Skills development (the extent to which

development spend is spent on black staff)

Preferential Procurement (purchases from

black-owned business)

Enterprise Development (assistance given

to developing black business)

Social Development (CSI)

Seven areas are measured:

PETRA FORDYCE

Manager of Associated Marine at Santam

PROTECTORS

Pirates have been around for as long as people have used the oceans as trade routes since about the 13th century B.C. Modern-day piracy is no laughing matter and is wholly devoid of any romanticism. In the fi rst nine months of 2008, pirates world-wide boarded 115 vessels, hijacked 31, fi red on a further 23, took 581 crew members hostage and killed nine of them.

MA

RIN

E IN

SURA

NC

E

For the past 35 years the

experts at Santam Marine

Insurance have been

advising clients on insuring their

cargo and protecting themselves

against the age-old phenomenon

of piracy. Essence spoke to Petra

Fordyce, Manager of Associated

Marine at Santam.

Insurance risk“Piracy has been an insurance

risk for marine underwriters

for as long as there has been

traditional hull and cargo policies

have covered maritime trade,”

says Petra. “Modern-day pirates

are increasingly sophisticated.

They are better organised, have

better equipment and are better

informed than ever before,” says

Petra.

“At Santam Associated Marine,

we concentrate mainly on

insuring cargo and not so much

big ocean-going vessels. We

cover the loss or damage of cargo

between the points of origin and

fi nal destination in terms of the

relevant Institute Cargo Clauses,”

says Petra.

The unit operates from offi ces

in Johannesburg, Cape Town

(with a sub-division in Port

Elizabeth) and Durban. The

40 full-time staff members service

about 5 000 clients, with a rough

book value of about R270m.

“Many of Santam Associated

Marine’s staff members are FAIS-

accredited and trade in all major

currencies (such as the rand,

United States’ dollar, pound ster-

ling and euro). Imports are usually

insured and claims paid in rand,

in view of the Reserve Bank’s

foreign exchange restrictions.

Ship owners can lodge insur-

ance claims for physical loss or

damage arising from piracy under

relevant Institute Hull and War

clauses,” adds Petra.

Business interruptionUntil recently there was no

cover for the fi nancial impact

of business interruption or loss

of earnings due to piracy. The

average vessel is held for 60 days

and, during that time, charterers

must meet the charter-hire costs,

even if they have lost control of

the ship and are haemorrhag-

ing income. They also risk losing

contracts because of the delay.

“Santam Associated Marine

does not cover losses due to

business interruption caused

by piracy. We only cover cargo

against normal damages and/or

physical loss of cargo as a result

of piracy. As part of our pro-ac-

of our clients’ cargo

PETRA FORDYCE

tive risk management philosophy,

we advise our clients to ensure

their cargo is booked on vessels

with good risk management and

with security controls in place.

If their cargo is considered high

value or potentially attractive

to pirates, we advise our clients

to rather book their cargo on

a vessel which goes around the

tip of Africa, as opposed to the

alternative, shorter, but more

risky route via the Gulf of Aden,”

adds Petra.

RansomIn November last year, Somali

pirates gained the world’s atten-

tion when they boarded the Sirius

Star, the largest oil tanker ever

captured. It was carrying two mil-

lion barrels of oil worth $100m.

The ship was fi nally released in

January this year, but only after

the owners had paid a £1.95m

ransom.

The difference between the pi-

rates of yesteryear and modern-

day buccaneers is that, typically,

the cargo alone is not targeted,

but the crew as well, with the lat-

ter being held for ransom. Pirates

often demand ransoms of up to

$50m, although this can fall to

around $3m per vessel.

According to Petra, there

are two schools of thought on

ransom payments. One view is

that the ransom should be paid as

an ‘extraordinary expense’ under

a Marine General Average Claim,

whereas the other argument is

that you cannot pay ransom as it

is illegal.

In accordance with the Associa-

tion of Marine Underwriters of

South Africa (AMUSA), the pay-

ment of ransom would constitute

a General Average act. A General

Average is defi ned by English Law

as a loss incurred, towards which

the whole concern is bound to

contribute pro rata, because it

was undergone for the general

benefi t and preservation of the

whole.

The term ‘loss incurred’ begs the

question whether a ransom paid

is in fact a loss incurred? Accord-

ing to the York-Antwerp rule,

a General Average act is when,

and only when, any extraordinary

sacrifi ce or expenditure is inten-

tionally and reasonably made or

incurred for the common safety

- for the purpose of preserving

from a peril – of the property

involved in a common maritime

adventure.

Petra believes that it’s best

rather to pay the ransom than

let piracy sink the vessel, which

means a total loss.

Little legal recourseThe problem with piracy is that

with millions of dollars at stake,

pirates have no incentive to stop.

Added to that are the legal barri-

ers to prosecuting individuals cap-

tured in international waters. Most

countries are struggling to apply

existing maritime law, international

law and their own laws, which

limit them to having jurisdiction

over their own citizens. At most,

pirates are detained, interrogated,

disarmed and then released.

Security consultants BGN

Risk warn that the dramatic rise

in piracy could cost businesses

worldwide an extra £267m a

year in insurance costs on top of

ransom demands, and possibly

much more. It says the special risk

insurance levy for crossing the

world’s most dangerous piracy

hotspot has skyrocketed to an

average of $20 000 per vessel per

voyage compared to only $500

last year.

“As long as pirates sail the open

seas, shipping fi rms should take

steps to reduce the possibility of

danger, including employing private

security personnel, carrying out

regular risk assessments, liaising

with the International Maritime

Bureau’s piracy reporting centre,

and taking out appropriate insur-

ance cover,” concludes Petra.

The African continent is likely to play a greater role in global container trade, as Somali pirates are threatening traffic in the Suez Canal. Speaking at the African Ports and Harbours congress in Sandton recently, Nosipho Damasane, GM of Transnet Port Terminals (TPT), said that more ships might opt to go past Cape Town, rather than face piracy in Somali waters.

South Africa was spending an estimated R2.8 billion in port investment during the 2009/10 financial year. Among these projects was the Port of Ngqura, located outside Port Elizabeth, which should be operational by October this year. The port has a berth draught of 16.5m and is well suited to handle large con-tainer vessels.

The recent increase in pirate activity off the Somali coast has necessitated the rerouting of Seacom’s undersea cable installations from Mumbai to Africa to avoid troublesome waters.

A GREATER NEED FOR AFRICAN PORTS

Undersea cables rerouted due to piracy

“We advise our clients to ensure their cargo is booked on vessels with good risk management and with security controls in place”

ESSENC

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INSURANCE MOTOR ASSESSORS AND MBR JOIN FORCES TO UP STAFF’S SKILLS

In the beginning of the year a couple of Santammers signed up at Santam’s Technical Claim Training Academy for the inten-sive five-month Motor Adjustment Development Programme. The theoretical training covered insurance and product knowledge, soft skills, as well as technical training. For the first time ever the practical compo-nent of the technical training was done in collaboration with the Motor Body Repair (MBR) Industry. Bosch and Son Training Academy pro-vided the facilities for the practical training.

Recently Santammers

from the digital hub in

Bedfordview and the

Immediate Resolution

Agents in Multi SOS all successfully

completed the Accelerated Training

Programme (ATP).

Igniting human capital“The ATP is a development

programme for internal and external

staff members that gives them

training as motor or non-motor

assessors. Because there is such a

lack of assessors, especially on the

motor side, we are quite adamant

about continuing to develop these

skills to ensure we are adequately

staffed for the future,” says Theo

Schalkwyk, Manager: Technical and

Operational Training at Santam’s

Technical Claim Training Academy in

Pretoria.

“The training programme covers

all the competencies a person

needs to become a qualifi ed

assessor. This includes an induction

session and training in insurance

products, systems, processes, soft

skills, business acumen, and policy

interpretation, as well as technical,

theoretical and practical training.

The duration of the training varies

between three and six months,

depending on the type of assessor

we’re training. For instance, when

we train digital assessors, the training

period is usually shorter than it is for

a normal roaming assessor, whereas

training for motor assessors usually

takes longer than it does for non-

motor assessors,” says Theo.

Theo is very proud that 82%

of this year’s intake comprised all

Employment Equity candidates. “We

focus on diversity and we make sure

that we upskill our current workforce

to ignite our human capital. We

believe that a better trained person

will ultimately deliver a better quality

service,” concludes Theo.

Santam groomsfuture assessorsTo overcome the diffi culty in fi nding qualifi ed and technically skilled motor and non-motor assessors, Santam’s Technical Claim Training Academy is making qualifi ed assessors out of more and more Santam staff members.

INSURANCE MOTOR ASSESSORS AND MBR

l l l l l l l l l l ll l l l l

On 9 August 1956, 20 000 women

proved to the world that it takes

courage to inspire change.

They marched on the Union

Buildings to protest amendments

to the 1950 Urban Areas Act.

They marched to inspire change.

And they succeeded. This month

we celebrate those women, who

fought with actions and words,

to motivate us all to newer, better

heights. It is this inspiration that

we cherish most.

l l l l l l l l l l ll l l l l

On 9 August 1On 9 August 1On 9 A 956, 20 000 women

proved toved tov o the world that it takesd that it takesd that it tak

courage to inspire change.

They marched on the Union

Buildings to protest amendments

to the 1950 Urban Areas Act.

They marched to inspire change.

And they succeeded. This month

we celebrate trate tra hose women, who

fought with actions and fought with actions and f words,

to motivate us all to newer newer new , better

heights. It is this inspiration that

we cherish most.

salutessalutes

INGRID

LIZET

Essence spoke to a few of Santam’s many extraordinary women. Most of these women head up departments or run

projects worth millions of rand, and succeed in maintaining a

work-life balance. They live excit-ing lives and have big aspirations.

These are their stories.

OU

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If you happen to be in a Santam offi ce

these days, the chances are pretty good that you may run into a

female employee. Right now, women

are in the majority at Santam, accounting for

57.86% of Santam’s employee base.

Impressive as it may be, only 2.35% of these

women hold job grade 6 or higher-ranking positions,

which means the proverbial glass ceiling

is pretty much intact.

SANTAM

JULIA

VANESSA

INGRID

SONJA

LOUISE

SHEHNAZ

KAREN

RAY-ANN

women

ESSENC

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OU

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When she is not taking her horse, Charlies’ Rock, for a ride, she is advising Ian Kirk on strategic issues that affect our future business. Meet Vanessa Otto-Mentz, Head of Santam’s Strategy Unit.

VANESSA OTO-MENTZIAN’S RIGHT-HAND (WO)MAN

organisation, I think San-tam strives to give equal opportunities to females. Santam exists within a larger system, which is dominated by patriarchal values, of which most are unaware. These hidden values do affect opportunities for females, but in a subtle, often quite unintentional, way.

Critics often say women lose their femininity in the workplace because they have to compete with the ‘boys’. It all depends on how you defi ne femininity. If it means taking a back seat, acting weak, being self-effacing and overly emotional, then yes, you would have to lose that, as it is not a mature way to behave in busi-ness. If it means having a high EQ, being caring, considerate, able to empathise and understand the bigger issues, then no.

I am very passionate about my job and the opportunity it gives me to constantly learn new things and be challenged, while simultaneously seeing how Santam and her people are developing.

How do you manage the work/life balancing act at Santam? I try to keep perspec-tive and prioritise. I have accepted that the “to do”-list will never be cleared, which is why I usually have a huge “In-box”! I usually don’t take lunch and having a Blackberry is also great. I have an excellent support system at the offi ce and at home. I trust my team and colleagues and believe many hands make light work. Other than that, my horse Char-lies’ Rock makes sure I get enough exercise and fresh air!

If one looks at our policies and the increasing number of females in senior positions across the

At Santam most of my days are spent in discussions about strategic issues that affect our business and coming up with solutions on the future way forward.

Where and what did you study? I fi rst attended Rhodes University and did a BCom part-time, then spent one year at the University of Johannesburg pursuing my honours full-time. Next, I wrote the Board exam to be admitted as a CA (SA). Later, I completed my MBA through the University of Edinburgh.

Women are very different, just as men are different. Each individual contributes different qualities. Generally, women are more attuned to the feelings of people, which is important for group dynamics. Diversity in the workplace is key, which is why I believe it is important to have both men and women in the workplace.

My day usually starts with

getting the children to school

on time. It’s not an easy task,

considering that three girls share

a bathroom! I attend at least four

meetings a day with various peo-

ple to persuade or infl uence, or

get their input on sustainability

issues affecting the organisation.

Like most career women, Ray-Ann juggles the act of managing a challenging job (as Head of Integrated Sustainability at Santam), and that of being a wife and mother. Although from time to time her juggling act sends her on a guilt-trip, feedback from her peers affi rms that she brings a humanistic, caring, nurturing quality to the business.

My day usually starts withRAY-ANN SEDRES

DID YOU KNOW? Vanessa’s …

Favourite perfume? Vera Wang

Always has white wine in her fridge

Second career choice would have been that of psychologist

The proud ‘owner’ of a tattoo

Pet peeve is people who are half asleep and rude

“Diversity in the workplace is key, which is why I believe it is important to have both men and women in the workplace.”

I love the diversity of my job, which touches on all aspects

of the business. I always feel that

I’m privileged to have this access.

Where did you study and what? I obtained a BCom

through Unisa.

How do you manage the work/life balancing act at Santam? I dedicate my hours in

the offi ce to Santam and when

I get home I believe that family

comes fi rst. I also have an amaz-

MANAGER BY DAY, MOMMY BY NIGHT

ESSENC

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other as men are, but, hopefully, this too is changing.

Critics often say women lose their femininity in the workplace because they have to compete with the ‘boys’. I have known a couple of women in leadership positions who tried to prove that they were tougher than their male counterparts. I don’t know whether this was just a survival mechanism, but I knew very early on that this style wasn’t suited to me as I believe in being a natural leader.

Besides having grace and style, in general, women are more sensitive and comfortable with expressing, and dealing with, emotions in the workplace. I believe women are better listeners and are therefore able to empathise with staff.

My father is my role model and the person who has had the greatest infl uence over who I am today. He gave me the wings to fl y and opened my world by enabling me to study in South Africa, India and London, and to travel widely during holi-days. He walked the talk and ef-fortlessly combined compassion

with business, infl uenced by the Eastern philosophy with which he was brought up. He also taught us never to mix politics with business and never to cheat as we would ultimately only be cheating ourselves. I come from a family of eight daughters. I am the seventh child out of nine, so my elder sisters were an infl uen-tial factor in my life – all of them are successful career women and have leadership positions in their chosen fi elds. How could I not follow suit?

DID YOU KNOW? Ray-Ann’s …Pet peeve is people who hear, but don’t listen

Favourite perfume? Viva la Juicy

Favourite TV programme? BBC Lifestyle

Hobby is painting and restoring houses

Favourite pastime is dancing

now and then, especially when

I see my husband (who works

from home) is able to interact

with the kids on issues I have little

part in at home. I really try hard

to balance my commitment at

Santam and at home.

My mother is my role model. She has faced so

many challenges in her life. Her

resilience and tenacity, which

had a huge effect on me and my

siblings, is now infl uencing my

two girls as well.

ing support structure at home,

which helps.

I believe Santam gives equal opportunities to women. The issue of level-

“I don’t believe that any female needs to give up her femininity when stepping into the corporate world.”

ling the playing fi eld in terms

of gender is continuously on

Santam’s agenda. This is evident

from the National Employment

Equity Forum (NEEF) forum

and Employment Equity (EE)

plans. Parenting is defi nitely a

dual responsibility, but I must

admit all kids would prefer mom

at their bedside when they’re ill.

God provided us with the innate

ability to be nurturing.

As a working mom I do go through a guilt trip every

She was born in the Seychelles as one of nine children, speaks French, German and Italian, and has studied in three countries. For her, 2009 will undoubtedly mark one of the highlights of her career, as she is about to take up a very challenging and exciting position as the new Head of Personal Lines Underwriting. This is just one of many excit-ing things happening in Shehnaz Somers’s life.

other as men are, but, hopefully, this too is changing. SHEHNAZ SOMERS

Since January this year my biggest challenge has been to try to balance the demands of two jobs and because I don’t cope well with failure, I was always trying to keep on top of things to meet all the deadlines. One of my challenges as the new Head of Personal Lines Underwriting is to infl uence the necessary changes required for Santam to move away from broker discounts towards a client-centric underwriting and rating approach.

Where did you study and what? I did my O-levels in the Seychelles. After that I came to South Africa for a year. I then went to India to do my A-levels at a British missionary school. Next, I enrolled at the University College London (UCL) to read French. In 1985, the Mixed Mar-

riages Act was repealed in South Africa and my partner came over to England, where we got mar-ried. A year later we relocated to Cape Town where I continued my studies at the University of Cape Town, majoring in English, French and Italian. Next, I did my honours and a post-graduate degree in education, followed by a master’s in French Literature.

Do you think Santam gives equal opportunities to females? The traditional role of women is changing, as recent research indicates that women are better at multi-tasking than men are and have just as much potential to reach the highest levels in organisations and bring with them much-needed diver-sity. Historically, women have not been as supportive of each

DID YOU KNOW? Shehnaz’s …Favourite perfume? Mademoiselle

Cannot do without French perfume

Second career choice would be to be an opera singer

Guiltiest pleasure Persian carpets

THE WORLD IS HER OYSTER“I believe women are better listeners and are therefore able to empathise with staff.”

OU

R PE

OPL

E I simply love what I do at San-tam. I am very fortunate that I am

in a position where I can infl uence

and co-implement the strategy.

I enjoy all the opportunities that

I get to interact with staff in the

Commercial Business unit and

my personal favourite is people

development. I believe in assisting

people to unlock their potential.

I have a wonderful support structure at home to help me juggle the work/life balance. My family has grown with me

through the years and they fully un-

derstand my challenges. At work

I have surrounded myself with an

independent and competent work

team that enjoys shared success.

Like me, the members of the team

are each on a personal journey

of growth and development and

together we respect that in each

other. I also never negotiate about

time with my family or time at

work.

In my career I have never ex-perienced the so-called glass ceiling. In my team I am valued for

my contributions, feminine touch,

and the value I add. After all, what

counts is the bottom-line.

My view on parenting is to do

whatever the situation requires!

My husband, best friend and part-

ner in life, Arthur, knows exactly

when to step in when I need to

step back. Tradition? Not a chance

– parenthood requires teamwork

at its best!

Critics often say women lose their femininity in the workplace because they have to compete with the ‘boys’. Being assertive, driving for results

or engaging in healthy debate will

never make me wish I was a boy

or take away my love of being a

woman. In fact, femininity gives us

the edge over the boys!

Women naturally under-stand the dynamics of emo-tional intelligence and the value it brings to the work-place. Their unique approach to

tasks and their absolute knack for

seeing things through to the end

makes them great team players.

LOUISE PHARO

When she is not heading up Santam’s Commercial Business unit, she hits the road with her Harley-Davidson. Last year she won the South African Council for Businesswomen (SACBW) Award in the Corporate Category. Meet Louise Pharo, businesswoman, wife, mother and go-getter.

DID YOU KNOW? Louise’s …Aspiring to play the saxophone

Favourite hobby is restoring small pieces of antique furniture

Secretly mad about Italian restaurants

Guiltiest pleasure is ”Bokdrolletjies” (chocolate-coated peanuts)

Pet peeve is laziness and procrastination

“ Femininity gives us the edge over the boys!”

A typical day in my shoes at Santam starts in the Bloemfon-

tein offi ce of Santam Agriculture.

My task is to manage the various

administrative support functions

and processes of crop insurance

and to determine which of these

could be more effectively aligned

with the asset insurance proc-

esses within Santam.

The people I work with, who are all passionate about agriculture, make going to work each day a pleasure. My father worked

for Sentraoes (a predecessor of

Santam Agriculture) for many

years, which means that I have

actually been involved in the

industry for a large part of my

life. I love seeing the changes and

development that have taken

place over the years.

Women are usually more persuasive and fl exible and have more empathy. They

also tend to learn from their

mistakes and get things done –

these are all great qualities that

women bring to the workplace.

Women are also more fi nely at-

tuned to undercurrents and will

quickly identify discontentment

and in acting upon it prevent

future problems.

Critics often say women lose their femininity in the workplace because they have to compete with the ‘boys’. I have never noticed this.

The different genders do have

an infl uence on each other, but

mostly for the better, since the

groups absorb characteristics

from one another, to their

benefi t.

My role model would be

Prof. Helena van Zyl, Director

of the School of Management at

the University of the Free State.

The accreditation of the MBA

programme and establishment of

the Centre for Business Dynamics

is a testament to her determina-

tion and vigour. She is someone

who leads by example, and who

is not afraid to make unpopular

decisions, but who focuses rather

on what is best for the situation

or the issue at hand.

DID YOU KNOW? Ingrid’s …Favourite TV programme? The Amazing Race, Top gear, Two and a half men.

Favourite perfume? Michael Kors

Second career choice would be that of scuba diving instructor

Guiltiest pleasure? Ice-cream

Divorced and has no kids

INGRID ORROCKAGRICULTURE IS IN HER BLOOD

She has just bought an off-road motorcycle and plans to do the Paris-to-Dakar race one day. She has completed the Cape Argus nine times and still wants to dive all the top dive sites of the world. This feisty woman also has a master’s degree in computer science and an MBA. Meet Ingrid Orrock, Business Support Manager for Santam Agriculture in Bloemfontein.

NO STOPPING THIS GO-GETTER

ESSENC

E | 27 |

SONJA SANDERS

I am the Programme and Project Manager for the Client Centricity project at Santam, which requires that I in-

teract with all the different business

divisions at Santam. It keeps my

day fi lled with loads of interesting

topics and people. I don’t think I’ve

had one dull day at Santam.

It’s easy to be passionate about my job; in fact, everything

about my job is exciting. I get to

represent the needs of insurance

clients and infl uence the business

to keep meeting the clients’ needs

in new and innovative ways.

Where did you study and what? I studied for a BCom at the

University of Pretoria and did my

honours and master’s degrees in

marketing. I also played a little at

the AAA School of Advertising in

Johannesburg before starting my

fi rst job at an advertising agency.

I believe Santam gives op-portunities to anyone who is up for the challenge. If you

are passionate about your job and

believe in what you do, male or

female, there will be opportuni-

ties knocking on your door.

If I were CE of Santam for one day I would give everyone

the day off on their birthday.

I don’t believe you can be truly successful at anything, unless you are true to your character. I believe femininity is

a strength rather than a weakness

in the workplace. It helps us to be

in tune with the people we work

with. The odd tear has never

done any harm and it confi rms the

fact that we’re not robots after all.

Women are extremely hard working, they are passionate

about what they do and take

enormous pride in the quality of

the work they put on the table. I

have great respect for the many

women I work with who are

rock stars at work, cook healthy

meals night after night, deal with

homework, are at sports matches

early on Saturdays and still manage

to maintain a sense of humour

and have beautifully manicured

nails. I have worked for wonderful,

strong and inspirational females

for most of my working life.

She is tall, blonde and skinny and could quite easily fi t the spec for a Calvin Klein skinny-jeans model. With a Master’s degree in marketing and a passion for everything she does at Santam, this 32-year old Santammer is ready to open any door where opportunity knocks. Meet Sonja Sanders, Santam’s Innovation Hub Manager and mother of a brand-new baby boy.

DID YOU KNOW? Sonja’s …Can’t live without perfume, beau-tiful clothes and chocolate

Guiltiest pleasure is chocolate, cake and expensive shoes

Favourite TV programme? Grey’s Anatomy

Still aspiring to win the Lotto

Second career choice would be a cocktail waitress on a remote island

At the moment I am setting up a new unit in Santam,

called Business Change, that will

help Santam to become even

better at implementing cost-

saving and growth strategies by

using world-class project and

programme methodologies. It is a

very exciting and creative process

that challenges my thinking.

Where did you study and what? While I was gaining

practical experience (articles),

I studied part-time towards

my Chartered Accountant

qualifi cation through Unisa; I

completed it in 1995. I com-

pleted my MBA (cum laude)

through Wits Business School

earlier this year.

DID YOU KNOW? Lizet’s …Guiltiest pleasure is Sally Williams nougat

Favourite perfume? Chanel Allure

Second career choice would be to own a sanctuary for injured wildlife

Always laughs at British humour

Cannot live without learning new things every day

LEARNING TO PLAY THE PIANO

IS NEXT ON HER TO-DO-LIST

There are no half measures when it comes to Lizet Murray. She has just completed her fi rst Comrades marathon, and fi nished her MBA cum laude. She wants to write a book, complete a triathlon and learn to play the piano. Her latest challenge is to set up a new business unit in Santam, namely Business Change.

A PASSION FOR EVERYTHING SHE DOES AT SANTAM

LIZET MURRAY

“You do not have to act like a man or make excuses for your femininity to be accepted in the workplace.”

How do you manage the work/life balancing act at Santam? I have a wonderful and

supportive husband, Hilton, who

picks up a lot of the pieces.

There is nothing more inspiring than someone who does something well, such as: Bono of U2 for his pas-

sion to alleviate poverty; Helen

Zille for her guts and integrity;

Patricia de Lille for sticking to her

guns; Pam Golding for building

a business empire from scratch;

Kobus Neethling for his work on

creativity and the human brain;

Bruce Fordyce for his record-

breaking long-distance-running

career; Natalie du Toit for being

inspirational in every way, and

Jack Welch, Richard Branson and

Tom Peters for their signifi cant

impact on the way people think

about business.

OU

R PE

OPL

E

HR is essentially about trans-formation and this is what drives me. Also, on a micro-level, I believe passionately in individual potential. Most of us can be more than we are. If we can do things in HR to help cultivate true potential, it makes me happy.

Where did you study and what? I studied at UCT (under-

graduate degree in Social Science) and then went

to the Wits Business School for a fi nal honours year to study Human Resources Management.

How do you manage the work/life balancing act at Santam? Very badly! My three children Matthew (17), Bryony (14) and Emily (12) battle to recognise me in the evenings and my husband Jeremy prefers the au pair! More seriously, though, it is a struggle that many women battle

JULIA DYSSELL

KAREN MUUREN

Most Human Resources (HR) practitioners would tell you that if you work in HR you need a good dose of diplomacy, patience and, most of all, people skills – you are dealing with human beings, after all. If ever there was a right fi t for the job, it’s our Head of HR, Julia Dyssell. Julia has all those qualities and more – she was only 16 when she wrote Matric.

with and I am no exception. I believe Santam gives equal opportunities to females. Women are able to compete equally as evidenced by the fact that many of our senior positions are held by women.

If you were CE of Santam for one day, what would you do? I would go under cover at the coalface.

Parenting is defi nitely a part-nership and I rely heavily on my husband. He is a paediatrician, so he fortunately loves children. Our three children are now, however, all teenagers or tweenies and he is less keen on them than he used to be, so I am the one dealing with the adolescent tantrums, especially the female ones!

What ‘sacrifi ces’ are you currently making to be a working mom? I just do not see enough of my children and my

friends. I have a quiet fear that I will wake up one day and realise I have lost touch.

How do you tell is there is a successful work/life balance? If my kids seem vaguely normal and my husband still likes me. Bill and Melinda Gates are fairly impressive role models – their foundation does exceptional work and they get involved – its not arm-length.

client expectations. My role is very challanging. Strategy is a key, which places my team and I at the

forefront of the business.

Where did you study and what? University of Johannesburg

(former RAU), Unisa and Wits

Business School. BCom Law; LLB;

CPFA (Certifi cate Programme in

Finance and Accounting).

My work/life balance act at Santam requires that I con-

sciously focus, prioritise and plan.

If you were CE of Santam for one day, what would you do? Declare an “in-their-shoes-day”. I

would rotate key individuals across

different business units so they can

experience their colleagues’

roles and challenges. Afterwards

they would have to report back on

two things: fi rstly, they would have

to acknowledge one thing their

colleague or business unit does ex-

ceptionally, and, secondly, propose

one improvement the colleague’s

division should make with the

support of the rotated colleague’s

own unit. The improvement must

reduce costs, introduce more

effi cient processes, deliver greater

service and achieve a bottom-line

increase in profi ts.

I believe women’s intuitive

leadership and ability to col-

laborate are two positive and

unique qualities that women

bring to the workplace.

Her job as regional manager at Santam can take her from Johannesburg to Daniëlskuil in one week. Some days start at 03:00 and others end as late as 23:00. This is all part of life in the fast lane at Santam for Karen Muuren.

Describe a typical day in your shoes at Santam. My role as regional manager of the central region is to ensure we grow the business and produce a profi t. This involves developing and fostering excellent broker relationships, communicating our core offer-ing, facilitating cross-selling and ensuring we deliver to broker and

DID YOU KNOW? Julia’s …Guiltiest pleasure is chocolate – in fact, it’s a must every day

Favourite TV programme? Dexter

Favourite perfume? Chanel Chance

At the moment, reading Ways of staying by Kevin Bloom

Aspiring to travel to America; do a wine course and go back to her Xhosa lessons

DID YOU KNOW? Karen’s …Aspiration is to learn French

Guiltiest pleasure is the Tiramisu cupcakes from “Ilovecupcake” in Parkhurst

Cannot live without her bi-weekly Skype ‘video visit’ with her family in Canada

Not married and adores her godchild, nephews and nieces

PASSIONATE ABOUT PEOPLE

I have many role models and mentors. It is about a

combination of their different

strengths and qualities. To

name a few: Nelson Mandela,

Gandhi, Brand Pretorius, Ri-

chard Branson, Cynthia Caroll,

Maria Ramos, Santie Botha

and Warren Buffet.

SKY’S THE LIMIT FOR THIS LEGAL EAGLE

ESSENC

E | 29 |

There’s no greater feeling in the world than taking time off from work to go on hard-earned leave. One of the great benefi ts of working for Santam is the number of days’ leave you are entitled to per year.

your leaveyour leaveDon’t be left in the lurch about

IN S

HO

RTLE

AV

E PO

LIC

IES

Apart from going on

holiday, as a Santam

employee you can also

take leave if you are ill, when

you are an expecting mother or

father, when you relocate your

home, or are studying part-time.

However, Santammers are

not always sure about how to

interpret the company’s leave

policies, which is why Essence

consulted Elsabé van der Nest,

Total Rewards Manager at

Santam HR.

Annual leave

In line with market practice, San-

tam links staff members’ leave

entitlement to their respective

job levels and grades. Perma-

nently employed staff who work

for Santam in South Africa for

fi ve days a week are entitled to

(per year):

• Grade 13-15

18 working days’ leave

• Grade 11-12

20 working days’ leave

• Grade 7-10

23 working days’ leave

• Grade 1-6

7 working days’ leave

Permanent staff who work fi ve

days per week for Santam

Namibia are entitled to:

• Grade 7-15

24 working days’ leave

• Grade 1-6

27 working days’ leave

Maternity leave

“Female Santammers who are

expecting a baby, babies or who

are adopting a child younger

than two years, can reap many

benefi ts. There is also no limit

to the number of times you can

take maternity leave while work-

ing for Santam, and you don’t

have to work back any time you

booked as maternity leave,” says

Elsabé.

“Legally, a pregnant staff

member must stop work four

weeks before the expected date

of birth or planned Caesarean.

She may however work up to 10

days before the expected date

of birth or planned Caesarean,

provided she can present a doc-

tor’s letter confi rming that she is

fi t to work,” says Elsabé.

An employee who has a

miscarriage during the third

trimester of pregnancy or bears

a stillborn child is entitled to

maternity leave for six weeks

after the miscarriage or stillbirth,

whether or not the employee

had commenced maternity leave

at the time of the miscarriage or

stillbirth.

Annual leave is accumulated

during the fi rst four months of

maternity leave, but not during

the optional unpaid period of up

to two months.

Sick leave

“Sick leave enables staff who are

too sick to do their jobs to take

time off to recover from their

illness. This refers to their own

illness, and not that of a child or

relative,” says Elsabé.

The BCEA* stipulates that

during every three-year sick

leave cycle, a staff member

must be entitled to an amount

of paid sick leave, equal to the

number of days he or she would

normally work during a period of

six weeks. For full-time staff this

Employers are not legally obliged to allow accumulated leave to be cashed in, except when an employee leaves the company. Santam allows it, provided a minimum of 15 working days’ leave per annum has been taken.

The BCEA only requires that an employer offer 15 working days’ annual leave per annum.

The value of a day’s annual leave is your monthly package divided by 21.67. This value is used when you cash in leave. Income tax is deducted from all leave payments.

DID YOU KNOW?

Although the BCEA requires that only three working days per annum be granted to employees for any family-related crisis (“family responsibility leave”), Santam offers up to 10 days.

takenote!

* The Basic Conditions of Employment Act

The BCEA* stipulates that during every three-year sick leave cycle, a staff member must be entitled to an amount of paid sick leave... For full-time staff this would mean 30 working days.

LEAVE

ANNUAL

MATERNITY

SICK

OCCASIONAL

SPORTS

STUDY

UNPAID

DAYS

GRADE DEPENDENT

UP TO 6 MONTHS

30 OVER 3 YEARS

10 PER YEAR

10 PER YEAR

10 PER YEAR

10 PER YEAR

ESSENC

E | 31 |

would mean 30 working days.

During the fi rst six months of

employment, a staff member is

entitled to one day’s paid sick

leave for every 26 days worked.

You must produce a medical

certifi cate if you are sick from

work for longer than three

consecutive days. If a pattern

of sick leave occurs, and your

manager suspects possible abuse

of the sick leave system, you

may be required to provide a

medical certifi cate, even if you

take sick leave for less than three

consecutive working days.

“I you are still sick after ex-

hausting all your sick leave and

annual leave, you may qualify for:

temporary disablement benefi ts

under the retirement fund.

These benefi ts will kick in after

three months from the start

of the absence due to sickness.

During temporary disability,

75% of your pensionable earn-

ings will be paid (pensionable

earnings amount to 75% of total

package), provided Sanlam has

approved the claim,” says Elsabé.

Occasional leave Occasional leave at Santam is

covered under the BCEA as

Family Responsibility Leave. At

Santam, a maximum of

10 working days per calendar

year are available at manage-

ment’s discretion, under the

following circumstances:

• Serious illness of a close fam-

ily member such as your child

or spouse (serious enough to

warrant isolation/quarantine

or hospitalisation)

• Death of a close family mem-

ber (such as a grandparent,

parent, sibling, child, spouse,

parent-in-law, sibling-in-law)

• Attendance of court cases if

called as a witness

• Staff who are transferred

may take a maximum of four

days to visit the new location

to fi nalise personal arrange-

ments

• Moving house (typically one

day, on the day the actual

move takes place)

• Fathers may take a maximum

of four days on the birth of a

child.

It is not possible to regulate

occasional leave for every

conceivable scenario. Manag-

ers therefore have discretion to

approve/refuse occasional leave

that does not exactly fi t the

scenarios. Annual leave must be

used on religious days that are

not public holidays.

Sports leave

If you represent your province

or country in organised sport, or

if you coach a provincial or na-

tional team, you may take up to

• All staff qualify for 22 working days’ sick leave per year, with full pay during the first 12 months of working for Santam.

• A maximum period of 66 working days’ paid sick leave may be granted over a period of three years, which is 36 days more than legally required in terms of the BCEA.

• At the end of the three-year cycle, up to 22 days’ sick leave left from the previous cycle will be

carried over to the next cycle.• If you are sick for longer than the available sick

leave days, additional paid working days’ sick leave up to a maximum of 22 days may be granted at your manager’s discretion.

• If your sick leave is insufficient after you have exhausted normal and discretionary sick leave, you can use your annual leave for this purpose, after which unpaid leave may be granted.

Santam’s maternity leave policy allows you to:

Take six months’ maternity leave, of which four months will be partially paid (60% of your total remuneration package).

Take annual leave taken before or after the maternity leave period to extend your leave, but only up to a total period of six months.

Quit your job after you’ve given birth, but you must return to work to complete your 30 days’ notice period.

Stop your retirement fund contributions, except the risk portion (funeral, group cover etc.) while you are on maternity leave.

Santam’s maternity leave policy does not allow you to:

Start working again within six weeks of giving birth.

Take sick leave just before your maternity leave. If you fall ill within two weeks of the birth date or planned Caesarean, your maternity leave will be deemed to have started, even if you are declared medically unfit in this period.

SANTAM’S SICK LEAVE POLICY

Santam’s maternity leave policy

carried over to the next cycle.

10 working days’ sports leave

per calendar year.

Study leave Though study leave is not a legal

requirement, Santam offers it in

the interest of staff members’

ongoing career development.

You may take up to one day’s

study leave per enrolled subject,

plus all the days on which

examinations are written (no

more than

10 working days per calendar

year) for a course approved by

Santam.

Unpaid leave In exceptional circumstances

a maximum of 10 days’ unpaid

leave per calendar year may

be taken, at the discretion of

management.

DRAF

TFCB

CAP

E TO

WN

SANT

0012

85/1/E

Santam’s Environment Policy is a useful means of helping our staff, clients, suppliers and other stakeholders identify, assess and

reduce their environmental impacts.

According to the Policy, Santam will strive to run its business activities and operations in a manner that: is caring and respectful towards people

and the planet, while equally respecting the need for company profi tability

balances our short-term needs against the long-term consequences of our actions

recognises that the health and wellbeing of human beings depends on the healthy

functioning of the earth’s eco-systems recognises that the long-term profi tability

and effi ciency of our business depends on and is enhanced by ensuring the healthy functioning of our society and the environment.

So, what impact do we at Santam have on the environment? We directly affect the environment through our: management of properties consumption of energy, water, paper and

harmful substances management of waste.

We have an indirect impact on the environ-

ment through the manner in which we: design and deliver our products provide advisory services to our clients direct and manage our investments procure goods and services.

Santam’s Executive Head of Risk Services, Hendri Nigrini, is the custodian of the Policy.

Next time you want more informa-tion on the environment, or if you are looking for creative ideas to get your fingers green, visit The Enviropaedia (www.enviropaedia.com). The Enviropaedia is considered one of the best environmental education and information resources in South Africa. This is why Santam has been one of the key sponsors of The Enviropaedia for the past two years.

Ten lucky Essence readers can each win a copy of The Enviropaedia Networking Directory – ‘Be the change you want to see’ edition. Simply answer this easy question and e-mail it with your S-ID number and postal address to: sustainability@santam.co.za

QUESTION

What is the name of the edition of The Enviropaedia Networking Directory that can be won?

Santam not only cares about you and our clients, but also about the

environment. We recently launched our fi rst Environmental Policy

that guides us on how we manage our properties, investments and

procurement processes.

BECAUSEwe care

BECAUSEwe care

BECAUSE

TOMORROWABOUT

we careABOUT

we careTOMORROWABOUTTOMORROW

AT S

AN

TAM

WE

CA

RE

we carewe careTOMORROW

For more information on our Environmental Policy, go to: embrace/sustainability/environmental policy, or contact Santam’s Sustainability Department on 021 915 7289.

MEET OUR GREEN PARTNERS

Bernice Lemboe, Erica Wicomb, Shiralda Mitas and Ray Ann Sedres from Santam’s Integrated Sustainability Department.

ESSENC

E | 37 |

Did you know?Recycling paper uses 50% less water than what goes into making paper from wood pulp.

PrecyclingPrecycling is good, but ‘precycling’ is even

better. ‘Precycling’ is the practice of reduc-

ing waste by attempting to avoid accumu-

lating it in the fi rst place. ‘Precyclers’ try to

cut out as much packaging as possible and,

to this end, they think ahead, shop locally,

buy things loose, and take along their own

containers when they shop.

Recycling …

Reduces the waste

stream going to

landfill sites

Creates jobs

Helps reduce pollution

Conserves natural

resources

Conserves energy

Reduces manufacturing

costs

Reduces litter

Saves water

Reduces informal

salvaging from

landfill sites.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Professor Wangari Maathai, otherwise known as The Tree Woman, made her mark with a simple, but effective idea: Plant trees to stop erosion and to restore the ecology in Kenya.

In 1977, she started the Green Belt Movement that planted 30 million trees.

Now, she’s tackling global warming by planting even more trees! Why not do your bit this Arbor Week, by planting a ‘waterwise’ indigenous tree?

ONE TREE MAKES A DIFFERENCE Reduce, reuse and recycle. If

you apply these three concepts

at work and at home, you could

be saving a great deal of money

and energy, creating jobs and

doing your bit for the environ-

ment. This is just one of many

messages that our Integrated

Sustainability Department is

sending to staff.

The Integrated Sustainability

Department recently hosted

their second series of work-

shops for staff, following the

successful water-wise work-

shops held earlier this year. The

waste-wise workshops were

hosted by Smart Living, in con-

junction with the City of Cape

Town, and focused on ways to

reduce waste in the offi ce and

home environment.

“The good news is that these

workshops are now being

rolled out to our regional offi c-

es too,” says Bernice Lemboe,

of the Department. Santam-

mers in Gauteng attended the

water-wise and waste-wise

workshops on 26 and 27 Au-

gust this year.

“In addition to the workshops,

we are rolling out recycling

initiatives throughout the com-

pany. We really have no choice

but to start recycling, because

we’re running out of room to

‘bury’ our rubbish,” says Bernice.

Paper giant Mondi has agreed to

join Santam by putting recycling

bins on all fl oors at Head Offi ce

in the Admin Centre, and at

our Illovo offi ces. The response

has been overwhelming and we

can’t keep up with the demand,”

says Bernice.

According to Bernice, they

are now looking at sourcing

more permanent containers to

replace the cardboard boxes

currently in use, and to roll out

the recycling initiatives to all

Santam offi ces. They are also

in negotiations with the City of

Cape Town to put up a glass

recycling bin in the parking lot

opposite the Head Offi ce build-

ing in Tyger Valley.

watch out!ENVIRONMENTAL CRIMINALS

want notWaste not, want notWaste not, want not

WHY YOU SHOULD RECYCLE

Specialised courts to deal specifically with environmental crimes in South Africa will come into effect early in 2010, the ministry of water and environmental affairs, announced recently.

“We have problems with mines that just dump their waste anywhere and get away with it. We also have an abalone poaching problem in our country, but the people involved often get away,” Minister Buyelwa Sonjica said.

Included on the list of priorities of the ministry of water and environmental affairs are: coastal management and the conservation of marine resources, climate change, the greening of townships, environmental impact management, air quality, public education, women and the youth, and with sustainable job creation and skills development.

SOC

IAL

SCEN

E

A couple of graduates from universities in the Western Cape recently completed Santam Corporate Legal Services’ Mentorship Programme. The graduates each received a certificate and celebrated their achievements with Santam mentors during a lunch at Santam’s Head Office.

Front: Kulthoom Larney, Craig Barends and Francel Mouton.

Middle: Adriaan Bester, Jahwyer Accom, Louise Swanepoel,

Liana van de Heuvel, Sandra Ackland, Liezel Fourie, Neil

Slabbert, Ravi Jaga and Mpume Dludla.

Back: Riaan van Wyk and Herman Koen.

READY FOR THE CORPORATE WORLD!

Santam recently treated the top brokers in each region to a fun-fi lled week-

end of leisure and sport at the luxurious Pezula Resort near Knysna.

Top brokers treated

Santammers go green

Santam’s Integrated Sustainability Department recently

hosted a Green Marketing Workshop for Santammers

who work in the Brand, Strategy and Communications

departments, as well as Santam’s advertising agency,

DraftFCB, and its public relations agency, Atmosphere.

Hugh Tyrrell from Green Edge Communications spoke

about climate change, green washing, and how to leverage

our green status as a unique selling point.

1: Kirstin Lapping and Nadja Srdic (DraftFCB), Ray-Ann Sedres (Santam’s Integrated

Sustainability Department), Luanne Slingerland (Atmosphere) and Hugh Tyrrell. 2: Edmond

Lee (Santam Strategy) and Alex Hetherington (Hetherington Media). 3: Rochelle Roman

(Santam Marketing), Adriaan Bester (Santam Communications), Bernice Lemboe (Santam’s

Integrated Sustainability Department) and Noorjehan Moosa (Santam Marketing).

1

2

3

Hendri Nigrini,

Executive Head Risk

Services at Santam

enjoying a round of

golf with brokers

Louis Groenewald

and James Young.

Congratulations to the lucky nine young-

sters whose names were drawn in San-

tam’s Colouring Competition, that featured

in the June/July edition of Essence. A big

thank you to all 65 of you who entered the

competition. It was clear that the young

Santammers are indeed a talented bunch

– not to mention the little two year-olds

who entered!

The lucky winners who each won an

environmentally-friendly toy and Game

vouchers, are:

SUSTAINABILITY COLOURING COMPETITION

Congratulations boys and girls!

4: Advocate Malini Govender, Deputy Director of Public

Prosecutions, and Advocate Derek Vogel, Senior State Advocate.

5: Mike Barkhuysen, Anna Tuck and Franco Feris attended the

Cape Town session. 6: Pieter Kruger, Deon van Wyk and Helen

du Toit from Santam’s Head Office.

ESSENC

E | 39 |

Santammers in Cape Town and Johannesburg recently

attended Forensic Services’ Fraud Awareness session to

learn more about combating and preventing fraud and

corruption. Advocate Derek Vogel, Senior State Advocate

from the Specialised Commercial Crime Unit in Cape

Town, was the guest speaker at the Cape

Town session, while Charl Strydom, CFE

from Legifer Consulting, spoke to staff

in Johannesburg.

Santam’s Chief Executive, Ian

Kirk, delivered the keynote

address at this year’s Insurance

Institute of Southern Africa (IISA)

Annual Conference at Sun City.

The conference is an important

event in the insurance industry’s

calendar. This year’s event gave

delegates the opportunity to

debate challenges facing the

industry. Apart from the speaker

programme, delegates enjoyed

several networking opportunities,

a top-class trade exhibition,

exciting entertainment, and a

great golf competition.

4

6

Santammers onfraud alert

Advocate Malini Govender, Deputy Director of Public

Prosecutions, and Advocate Derek Vogel, Senior State Advocate.

6

5

Ian Kirk, Peter Miller (President and CEO of the American Institute for CPCU and

the Insurance Institute of America), David Harpur (CEO of IISA) and Alan Hutcheson

(WesBank’s General Manager for Fleet) made a formidable team.

Ian Kirk delivers keynote at IISASantam’s Chief Executive, Ian

Kirk, delivered the keynote

address at this year’s Insurance

Institute of Southern Africa (IISA)

Annual Conference at Sun City.

The conference is an important

event in the insurance industry’s

calendar. This year’s event gave

Ian Kirk, Peter Miller (President and CEO of the American Institute for CPCU and

the Insurance Institute of America), David Harpur (CEO of IISA) and Alan Hutcheson

(WesBank’s General Manager for Fleet) made a formidable team.

Ian Kirk delivers keynote at IISA

0 - 4 years

Karabo Moteane - 1st Place

Kara Maddock - 2nd Place

Jack Jenbel - 3rd Place

5 - 7 years

Keanu Down - 1st Place

Ghadijah Kippie - 2nd Place

Kiara Seodutt - 3rd Place

8-10 years

Quinton Ochs - 1st Place

Jessie Booysen - 2nd Place

Nikita Thudwa - 3rd Place Above: 4-year old Karabo Motene won

the first prize in the 0-4 years category.

CARMEN JONAS

Works in the Assessor Support division at Santam Pretoria.

FOO

D F

OR

THO

UG

HT

According to a study in 2008

by the Global Entrepreneur-

ship Monitor (that measures

entrepreneurship activities in over

40 countries), South African women

ranked among the top 23 countries

in the world. We can really be proud

of these courageous female decision

makers in our communities. If you look

closely you’ll even fi nd them right here

at Santam!

I will never forget the fi rst time I

walked into the beautiful Santam build-

ing in Cape Town nearly three years

ago for my interview. I remember sitting

in the waiting area, just staring at the

beautiful surroundings and staff passing.

Even as I write this article I can still re-

member the professional and energetic

vibe – thinking I’d never fi t in here.

Turns out I fi tted in just perfectly! Three

years later I’m still enjoying my job in the

Assessor support division in Pretoria.

Over the years I have met extraordi-

nary women at Santam. One of them

is a dear colleague of mine, Henriette

Franke. I met Henriette shortly after

my relocation to the Pretoria branch.

I was still fi nding my way around and

barely knew anyone at the time. One

afternoon I returned to my desk and

as I was about to plunk myself into

my chair I heard an awful scream. I

realised with horror I was the one

screaming! Henriette placed

a huge plastic spider on my

computer keyboard, unaware

of my phobia.

Besides her mischief,

Henriette became a great

source of inspiration in my life.

We didn’t just become good

colleagues, but great friends too. It’s

Henriette’s undying entrepreneurial

spirit and determination that inspires

me. I’ve quickly learnt that once she

sets her mind on a project, there is no

way she’s letting it go until it’s complete.

She recently fulfi lled another one of her

projects by opening a coffee-serving

area on their church grounds. Driven by

her energetic entrepreneurial spirit, she

plans to also open her very own coffee

shop one day.

A strong character indeed – one that

is determined to think smart and act

instinctively at work and at home.

I’m also speaking for myself when I say

that each one of us has a yearning to

be more – to reach the infi nite, to think

big and make our dreams a reality. We

have the potential, sometimes all that’s

left is to take the risk.

It seems women have fi nally realised

their potential goes beyond just chang-

ing diapers and playing house. Women

are more than capable to juggle tradi-

tional female roles with demanding and

highly successful careers.

“Each one of us has a yearning to be more –to reach the infi nite, to think big and make our dreams a reality. We have the potential, sometimes all that’s left isto take the risk.”

Women have certainly come a long way

since the good old days when taking care of household chores and children were standard

practice. In recent years more and more young and aspiring

women, especially young South Africans, are taking the business

world by storm – making headway as successful entrepreneurs.

Women shoulddream

BIG

There are extraordinary women in our business. Women who, almost effortlessly, balance the trials of life and work with intelligence, grace and beauty. At Santam we appreciate their consistent and valuable contribution. And this month we celebrate the women who have made Santam what it is today.

- Faith Whittlesey

DRAF

TFCB

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