Capital Equipment News April 2018

MiWay’s Business Vehicle insurance covers any type of vehicle – from cars and bakkies, to vans and trucks.

especially those that rely on commercial vehicles and yellow metal equipment to earn their buck. Capital equipment gear, such as commercial vehicles and yellow metal equipment, is often routinely deployed to perform arduous tasks and get exposed to significant risks during operation and transportation, increasing the likelihood of damage and accidents. For small companies, the replacement of expensive, frequently utilised equipment is a major problem that can delay projects and drain a firm’s finances if machinery is not properly insured. To cater specifically for the insurance needs of SMMEs, MiWay, a leading insurance company in South Africa, established its Business Insurance division that has a specific focus on small and upcoming companies, with a range of products that can be tailored to suit each individual customer and its unique set of risks. Established some three-and-half years ago, the division started with just vehicle insurance for businesses, covering cars and bakkies. It was then expanded to cover medium-sized trucks, before it was extended to cover heavy-duty trucks and eventually yellow metal equipment. Bridging a gap According to Christiaan Steyn, Head of Actuarial Business Insurance at MiWay, the establishment of MiWay’s Business Insurance was informed by a strategic growth plan for the business, but more importantly, to bridge the insurance gap for SMMEs that existed in the market at the time. “Traditionally, MiWay has always been focused on the direct model we have on our personal lines business, which is based on scientific pricing models where each client's premium is based on their specific risk and there is no subsidisation where low risk clients are contributing towards the premium of high risk clients,” explains Steyn. “We also saw a big gap in the market to provide comprehensive, effective and tailor-made insurance products that speak directly to small businesses in the capital equipment space. We wanted to target

In December 2016, the MiWay business insurance was extended to cover yellow metal equipment.

SMMEs, as we saw that some of the large insurers are not geared towards high-volume small business,” says Steyn. “There is a lot of administration involved to service high volumes of small clients, but that’s what we do best.” Initially, MiWay’s business insurance started on commercially used cars and bakkies, considering that these are the very same assets covered on personal lines, and the company already understood the value chain. “It’s just the same product, but for a different user, but there is a lot of overlap in what we were already doing for many years.

Christiaan Steyn, Head of Actuarial Business Insurance at MiWay

“We saw a big gap in the market to provide comprehensive, effective and tailor-made insurance products that speak directly to small businesses in the capital equipment space. We wanted to target the SMMEs, as we saw that some of the large insurers are not geared towards high-volume small business.”

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