South African general insurer Santam Limited, the holding company of Santam Syndicate 1918, recorded robust financial results for the year ending December 31, 2025, with net income rising 10%.
According to the company’s official results announcement, net income grew to R4.06b from R3.68b in 2024, while income before tax and non-controlling interests increased 13% to R5.80b. Net earned premium (NEP) climbed 14.7% – up from 9.7% growth the prior year – and gross written premium (GWP) rose 6.4%.
The group’s net insurance result surged 61% to R5.26b, compared with R3.26b in 2024, driven by improved underwriting margins and premium growth across personal, commercial and specialist lines.
The combined ratio – a key measure of underwriting profitability in which a lower number signals better performance – improved to 88.7% from 92.4% in the prior year, falling below the group’s long-term target range of 90% to 95%. Return on capital stood at 29.2%.
The South African market remained Santam’s dominant revenue source, contributing 81% of total GWP in 2025, down slightly from 82% in 2024. International operations accounted for the remaining 19%. Santam Re and Specialist Solutions reported that non-South African GWP grew 11% to R6.8b over the year, with Santam Re contributing approximately 80% of that figure, according to BusinessTech.
“2025 has been a defining year for Santam. Our FutureFit 2030 strategy is bearing fruit, we delivered strong financial results and our underwriting discipline and portfolio actions across personal, commercial and specialist lines yielded outstanding results. We have remained resolute in our commitment to our intermediary business model while simultaneously investing in direct channels and partnerships to grow our footprint in underpenetrated consumer segments,” said Santam Group CEO Tavaziva Madzinga.
Madzinga added that the year marked a significant turning point in the company’s 107-year history.
“Perhaps most significantly, 2025 marks a transformational milestone in our 107-year history, the successful launch of Santam Syndicate 1918 at Lloyd’s. International growth and diversification is a central pillar of our FutureFit 2030 strategy, and Lloyd’s provides us with the most efficient and scalable platform to pursue this ambition. We look forward to collaborating with London market brokers and clients, bringing new business to Lloyd’s, and building a truly global Santam,” he said.
Santam Syndicate 1918, which received regulatory approval and opened for business on January 1, 2026, forms part of the group’s broader international expansion drive. The group also recently established a reinsurance branch at India’s Gujarat International Financial Services Centre (GIFT City).
Looking ahead, Madzinga expressed confidence in the group’s trajectory.
“From a Santam perspective, our expectation is that better economic conditions should lead to an easing of pressure on personal disposable income, particularly in South Africa, which is our main market. This should support our company’s growth prospects into 2026,” he said.
“As a group, we remain confident in our prospects and our potential to deliver enhanced growth and profitability.”
The International Monetary Fund has forecast modest economic growth in 2026, with global GDP expected to expand by about 3.3% and South Africa’s economy projected to grow around 1.4%.
