S.Africa’s Santam to pay $60 mln in relief to virus-hit firms within months -CEO

04 Aug S.Africa’s Santam to pay $60 mln in relief to virus-hit firms within months -CEO

JOHANNESBURG, July 27 (Reuters) – South African insurer Santam SNTJ.J aims to pay out around $60 million in relief within months to clients hit by the pandemic, its CEO said on Monday, amid criticism of the sector’s handling of policies that companies thought would cover them.

Many small South African businesses in the hospitality and tourism sector in particular are at risk of collapse after insurers – along with the global insurance industry more broadly – said business interruption policies did not cover the impact of coronavirus lockdowns.

Legal battles over the matter are ongoing in both South Africa and beyond, but locally many restaurants, hotels and other tourism businesses remain closed or operating at vastly reduced capacity, and may not survive in the meantime.

Regulator the Financial Services Conduct Authority (FSCA) said last week that the main South African insurers involved would offer clients relief payments to help see them through, though some businesses or their law firms raised concerns including about how long it would take to pay out the money.