Claims legal
Legal automated bi-weekly updates
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Collaboration with AI to keep brokers informed
Our initiative to provide brokers with automated updates commenced in November 2024 and was successfully delivered and implemented on 19 May 2025.
Legal webinar – panel discussion
The objective of the online webinar was to provide insight into the legal and insurance aspects of liability and recovery claims, the court process, policy coverage, and best practices in handling claims efficiently. Grab a cuppa, sit back, and watch the webinar on the link provided
Keeping our clients and other stakeholders informed regarding claims progress outcomes is key to improving our customers’ and brokers’ experience.
Our initiative to provide brokers with automated updates commenced in November 2024 and was successfully delivered and implemented on 19 May 2025 when 200 individual broker updates were sent to one of our key brokers, who subsequently confirmed receipt of all 200 claims updates.
On 2 June we went live with another key broker partner, and on 17 June we partnered with our Trucking Brokers. The next phase involves going live with our Binder Brokers, followed by the implementation for all remaining brokers. Upon finalisation of this implementation, a minimum of 8,000 individual updates will be dispatched every two weeks.
These updates apply to all work-in-progress matters across Front Office and Back Office Recoveries and Liabilities and include the status on the matter and activity. After the third phase of development, they will also include the last file note made.
The update is sent as a PDF via e-mail from a no-response mailbox. The PDF document is populated in such a way that the broker can forward it to the customer to provide an update on the claim’s status.
This enhancement marks a key milestone in Legal’s strategy to streamline operations and deliver stakeholder communications with greater consistency and efficiency. A time and motion study indicated that negotiators spend on average 20 hours per month providing updates to brokers. This initiative aims to relieve 20% capacity for the negotiators to negotiate settlements and finalise matters.
Our journey had challenges, but Broker Development Managers, Legal Team Leaders, and Legal Managers all persevered. Their collective effort achieved a significant milestone in legal operations.
200 claims updates confirmed received
Dispatched every two weeks
Per negotiator for updates
How infrastructure failure affects our motor accident loss ratio
The hidden drain on our motor loss ratio
South Africa’s deteriorating road infrastructure is a major financial burden for insurers. Potholes are particularly damaging to motor portfolios, increasing loss ratios and reducing recovery chances.
As at FY25, a total of 475 pothole-related claims were registered across all lines of business, amounting to an incurred loss of R11.6 million.
Registered as at FY25
Had location data
Missing details
Total amount
Pothole-related losses highlight infrastructure and governance failures but are manageable. By enhancing data practices and focusing on high-recovery areas, we can reduce losses.
Regional mapping of claims
Out of 475 claims, 41% had enough location data to be geo-coded, while 59% couldn’t be plotted due to incomplete details. This data quality gap hampers cost recovery from municipalities, especially where infrastructure management has failed.
Recommendations to improve recoveries
To enhance our ability to recover losses on pothole claims, the following actions are recommended:
Enforce compulsory incident location fields
Develop system capabilities that require complete location data (GPS) before claim registration.
Claims management escalation
Refer all claims lacking geolocation to claims managers for review and update.
Improve data collection on binder claims
Validate incident addresses against policy risk addresses to avoid incorrect location tagging.
Enhance documentation compliance
Ensure claimants submit all required documents at registration to qualify for recovery action.
Probability segmentation map layer created (March/April 2025 view)
Out of the 154 claims (R2.3 million) identified as potentially recoverable, 42 claims (R1.2 million) were ultimately referred to recovery negotiators.
The remaining were disqualified – primarily due to missing documentation, such as:
- GPS coordinates
- Pothole images
- Valid driver ID or vehicle registration
Conclusion
Pothole-related losses highlight infrastructure and governance failures but are manageable. By enhancing data practices, partnering with platforms like GRIP, and focusing on high-recovery areas, we can reduce losses. Inaction will worsen our loss ratio and increase unrecoverable exposures.