Namibia was chosen as the destination for iTOO Special Risks’ first Joint Venture partnership in early 2019. Our partner is Hollard Namibia which we have shared a successful working relationship with prior to the JV. We both felt that having a local presence in Namibia would be our best strategy and next step in cementing and growing our liability and specialist niche risks footprint in the local market to the mutual benefit of both parties.
Hollard Namibia came into being in 2003 with a small team of enthusiasts who shared a vision to shake up and challenge the norm of the local industry. It is safe to say, that the founding team achieved their initial goal by being recognised as Namibia’s largest privately-owned insurance group, running a book with over 60,000 policy holders and managing a Purple team of 236 employees.
Hollard Namibia’s head offices are situated on Jan Jonker Street, near the heart of Windhoek’s central business district. And with 10 branches across the country from Keetmanshoop in the south to Rundu in the north, Hollard Namibia has an extensive footprint across the vast country.
I was seconded to set-up this venture in early 2019 and I was fortunate enough to have called Windhoek and Namibia home for eighteen months. It is a fascinating country and definitely qualifies as one of the countries you should visit at least once in your lifetime.
Namibians will proudly tell you that few countries can match its sheer natural beauty – and Namibia certainly lived up to that billing. It is a dry country, but a very diverse country, world famous for the highest dunes in the world at Sossusvlei and for the Etosha National Park, one of world’s greatest conservation areas. Numerous work visits during my stay to the Coast where the desert meets the Ocean also truly took the breath away.
From a business perspective, iTOO Namibia grew from strength to strength since our launch in early 2019.
Although it has a small population, Namibia has a strong business culture with a growing demand for iTOO’s full product offering. In particularly high demand in the local market is Professional Indemnity, Broadform, Medical Malpractice and Trustee’s Liability cover.
During the last 18 months iTOO Namibia hosted two iTOO Talks which provided a training platform for iTOO’s product specialists to share their expert knowledge with the wider Namibian broker market, as well as Hollard Namibia’s staff. These sessions were well received and Post-Pandemic, iTOO will host several more of these sessions.
In July, 2019 Bennie Visser and I, also organised an iTOO Coastal roadshow where we visited and presented on our products to our Coastal broker base in Walvis Bay and Swakopmund.
I also had the privilege to attend and present at various industry conferences and annual AGM’s with a primary focus on our Medical Malpractice offering.
We have seen strong and healthy growth in our liability book, and our hope is to continue organically growing this book through smart underwriting, new product development and building strong relationships with our local broker base.
Fun Facts
- The country gets its name from the Namib Desert, one of the World’s oldest deserts.
- Nambia is the second least densely populated country in the World, with a population of 2.5 million.
- Despite its small population, Namibia is home to 13 different ethnic groups and over 30 different languages.
- Namibia was the first country in the World to incorporate environmental protection into its Constitution. More than 40% of the country is under conservation management.
- Namibia is home to the second largest Canyon in the World, the Fish River Canyon.
- The Namibian Dollar is used interchangeably with the South African Rand
Author:
Portfolio Manager: iTOO Namibia
Marc Lovatt