Africa
Our African subsidiary in Johannesburg has a mandate for all countries south of the Sahara, a region in which it has been an established business partner for many years. Despite the large number of countries served, more than 90% of our premium in the 2012 financial year derived from ceding companies in South Africa. Our focus in this market is on life reinsurance for individual policies, an area in which we are the market-leading reinsurer. In addition, we use our resources to assist start-up companies.
The South African market is generally known for its power of innovation. We actively support our clients with new product solutions and the opening up of new sales channels. In so doing, they are able to benefit from both our local market knowledge and our worldwide expertise. This is something that our existing customers appreciate and is also a key factor in the acquisition of new accounts.
In the financial year just ended we again generated pleasing growth in our gross premium volume. Net income after tax was satisfactory despite sharply increased claims payments in the case of one client. The African market continues to offer favourable growth opportunities going forward and will remain an important reinsurance market for our company. Our goal is to enlarge our portfolio and cultivate new business sectors, especially in countries outside South Africa.