AVBOB continues to make history despite harsh economic conditions

In its 99th year, the AVBOB Group has produced a strong set of results despite the weak performance of the financial markets.

The announcement was made during AVBOB’s Annual General Meeting which took place on 16 November 2017, where the Society’s financial results for the 2016/2017 financial year were presented. AVBOB CEO, Frik Rademan, announced a net income of R1,1 billion before tax. “During such tough economic times, having a profitable organisation is an achievement in itself and we are proud of what we have achieved,” Rademan said.

The Society performed exceptionally well and grew its net new business by 14.8%. Over the past six years, the Society grew its net new business by a remarkable 156.3% and Rademan said the resilience of their product offering, their one-stop service model and the expansion of the Group’s footprint supported this growth. He also emphasised that AVBOB’s mutual status is the key differentiator that sets it apart from its competitors and that being a mutual allows them to allocate their surplus profits to policyholders.

He was visibly excited when he announced that AVBOB has been certified as a Top Employer by the Top Employers Institute and said “the spirit of an organisation is in its workforce: they are the ambassadors, the drivers that steer the ship to ultimate success. I consider it a privilege to be at the helm of an organisation that has been in existence for 99 years.” Their aim over recent years, he said, has been to become a truly customer-centric organisation and this yielded the required results – as illustrated by the impressive collection of awards which were on display at the AGM. Amongst others, AVBOB was recently ranked third in the consumer category ‘Long-term Insurance’ in the Sunday Times Top Brands Awards and was voted the winner of the ‘Financial: Funeral Cover’ category for the second year running in the 2017/2018 Ask Afrika Icon Brands Survey.

The Society is less than a year away from celebrating its 100th anniversary which will be on 15 August 2018, a milestone that not many companies achieve these days.

Rademan said that AVBOB has great plans to celebrate this historical moment. Over and above what they intend to do to reward their policyholders, the Society intends to publish a book that will cover the growth and development of this iconic South African brand since 1918.

Earlier this year the Group announced its Schools Infrastructure and Poetry projects; two interesting and exciting initiatives that will coincide with their centenary celebrations. As part of the Schools Infrastructure project, the Group will invest R150 million to renovate nine schools across the country. This is insupport of the Department of Basic Education’s initiatives to provide quality education to all South African learners. The Poetry project provides established and aspiring poets from every walk-of- life with an opportunity to submit their poems in all 11 official languages. Winners of the competition stand to win significant cash prizes and upon completion of the competition, an anthology of the 100 best poems will be selected and published. Members of the public will also have access to thousands of poems which are continuously published on a website that was specifically created for this purpose.

SOME HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE 2016/2017 FINANCIAL YEAR

• Premium income increased by 16.0% to R3,1 billion.
• Net new insurance business grew by 14.8% in a tough economic environment.
• Funerals conducted grew for the fifth year in a row. Growth of 6.8% was achieved.
• Total assets increased by 8.5% to R15,0 billion.
• An amount of R1.1 billion was reserved for the enhancement of policyholder benefits.
• AVBOB was voted the Industry Winner in the Long-term Insurance Industry category, and for the second year in a row, the winner of the Funeral/Burial Service Industry category in the 2017/2018 Ask Afrika Orange Index Service Excellence Awards.