At a time of unprecedented disruption and opportunity in the insurance sector, SAS hosted an Executive Insurance Roundtable in Johannesburg.

This event explored how technology, collaboration, and forward-thinking strategies are reshaping the industry, bringing together top-tier leaders, analysts, and regulatory stakeholders to discuss the future of insurance in South Africa and globally.

Key insights were shared by Eduard Sargsyan, Head of Business Advisory, Insurance, EMEA Emesrging Markets & AP at SAS; Rebone Segoale, Insurance Business Lead at SAS South Africa; Dr Shay Ganesh, Executive: Managed Healthcare/Chief Medical Officer at PPS; and Vukosi Sambo, CIO of STM Healthcare Investment, PHA & Marara Group. Discussions highlighted industry trends, innovation imperatives, and the role of advanced analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) in addressing critical challenges.

Recent times have seen insurers adopt more flexible underwriting processes, expanding coverage options and improving renewal outcomes. Locally, insurers face mounting economic pressures, regulatory demands, and increased exposure to natural catastrophes such as the recent severe floods and storms that led to a National Disaster declaration earlier this month.

Rebone Segoale, Insurance Business Lead at SAS South Africa

“South African insurers must innovate faster to adapt to these unique circumstances. Leveraging advanced analytics and AI not only improves operational efficiency but also ensures insurers remain customer-focused and resilient in uncertain times,” said Segoale.

Sambo echoed this sentiment, emphasising the need for extensive infrastructure: "Insurers today need more than just data—they need the right infrastructure to harness its value. A scalable, secure, and integrated data platform is critical for unlocking actionable insights. By combining robust infrastructure with advanced analytics, insurers can enhance efficiency, improve decision-making, and remain competitive in a rapidly changing landscape."

AI continues to redefine how insurers approach risk and deliver value. Recognised thought leader Dr Ganesh underscored the transformative potential of AI in healthcare: “It is pivotal in analysing health data to detect fraud, waste, and abuse while simultaneously offering personalised insights for preventative care. By leveraging AI-enabled advanced analytics, we can predict health trends, optimise customer engagement, and empower insurers to deliver more proactive, value-driven healthcare solutions."

Across the insurance sector, addressing fraud emerged as a key theme. Tackling fraud effectively requires cross-industry collaboration and the ability to analyse large datasets to detect patterns and risks early in the claims lifecycle.

Eduard Sargsyan, Head of Business Advisory, Insurance, EMEA Emesrging Markets & AP at SAS

“Insurers are faced with the need to combat fraud and overcome underwriting challenges. At the same time, they must deliver personalised customer experiences,” said Sargsyan. “This requires global cooperation between stakeholders to build resilience and foster agility, ethical AI, and the ability to leverage data-driven insights. Insurers must embrace resilience and agility to stay ahead in this evolving landscape.”

The panel discussions also addressed the critical role of trust and governance in deploying AI.

“By pooling data and leveraging AI-driven insights, insurers can proactively detect and mitigate fraud. However, the success of these models depends heavily on the quality and reliability of the data. This underscores the importance of using trustworthy AI frameworks, supported by ethical practices and human oversight, to ensure accurate and actionable results,” said Sargsyan.

Segoale agreed, highlighting the evolution of customer expectations: “Customer expectations have evolved. There is pressure on insurers, especially in the highly competitive local market to tailor policies and engagement strategies. However, this must be done more effectively to build trust and reduce churn. Data is the cornerstone of all AI systems. This requires insurers to consider the impact that biased data can have on the customer engagement process if unfair outcomes are to be avoided when it comes to the underwriting and claims processes.”

All stakeholders across the insurance value chain, including regulators must collaborate to ensure that AI is used as a force for good. This is where a solid AI governance model and a commitment to trustworthy AI principles become non-negotiable.

“The responsible deployment of AI in insurance is a central theme to insurers around the world. For this to happen, robust governance frameworks must be put in place to ensure fairness, transparency, and compliance,” added Sargsyan.

The fight against increasingly sophisticated fraud networks demands advanced techniques. Modern approaches, such as link and network analysis, uncover hidden relationships and patterns that traditional methods often overlook.

“AI has transformed the fight against insurance fraud by enabling anomaly detection, behavioural monitoring, and collusion analysis. However, these efforts must be complemented by proper data collection and collaboration across stakeholders to ensure investigations are thorough and effective. By combining advanced analytics with human expertise, insurers can better navigate and expose intricate fraudulent schemes,” said Segoale.

“Using a combination of various analytical techniques reduces the risk of false positives to ensure fraud investigators work on the highest quality alerts. AI will become an indispensable tool in helping insurers survive and thrive as they continue to deal with the challenges of a digital world. But the technology must be supplemented by human intelligence and people who know how to use its capabilities optimally and responsibly,” said Sargsyan.