South African life insurance market showed resilient asset growth and steady claim payouts through 2025 and into 2026, according to Mr Nishen Bihani, Partner, Insurance, at KMPG South Africa.
In a section in KPMG’s report titled “ Presence with purpose—The South African Insurance Industry Survey 2026”, Mr Bikhani highlighted that the key features of the financial results released by South African insurers for the period included:
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• assets under management crossing ZAR5tn ($303bn) for the first time, with 2025 ending at ZAR5.2tn
• total in-force risk and savings policies rising by 4% to 46.2m
• insurers settling 94.1% of reported individual death, credit and funeral claims in 2025, paying out ZAR44.2bn worth of claims
• capital buffers remaining healthy with a solvency ratio of 1.89, nearly double regulatory minimums.
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Mr Bikhani said, “These outcomes are even more impressive when set within the context of the complex and contrasting market and macroeconomic backdrop. South Africa’s economic environment improved through 2025 and into the first half of 2026 but remained characterised by low growth and structural constraints. Inflation moderated, interest rates declined, the Rand strengthened and electricity stability improved. High unemployment, affordability pressures, logistics constraints and fiscal limitations continued to restrict growth.”
Further implications of the macroeconomic environment for the life insurance sector include:
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lower inflation and interest rates providing a more supportive environment for sales, retention and household cash flow
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improved confidence supporting asset values, fee income and investment flows
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a stronger Rand reducing translated international earnings and embedded value
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weather and climate volatility continuing to pose a significant risk for diversified insurance groups with general insurance operations.
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high unemployment and living costs constraining penetration, premium affordability and policy persistency.
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KPMG also carried out an analysis focussing on the largest life insurance groups in the South African market, namely, Discovery, Liberty, Momentum, Old Mutual and Sanlam.
Highlighting that KPMG continues to see robust results and solvency well above the required regulatory minimum thresholds, Mr Bikhani said that the key takeaways from its review of the life insurers’ results for 2025 and the first half of 2026 are as follows:
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• Financial resilience is strong, with improved earnings, embedded value and distributions across most groups.
• The quality of growth is mixed: strong demand did not always translate into higher VNB margins or cash.
• Capital is actively balanced across acquisitions, debt, dividends, buybacks and organic investment.
• Models are converging around ecosystems spanning insurance, banking, investments, health and digital engagement.
• International strategies are increasingly important in India, Africa and US healthcare.
• Execution and control risks include technology, integration, assumptions, data, weather and market volatility.
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