Zurich South Africa and its Botswana counterpart today rebranded to Bryte Insurance, following an acquisition by Canadian-based Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited (Fairfax) in 2016. Bryte has identified business risk management as a key growth opportunity and through its proactive approach to risk management, will focus on driving and diversifying its commercial client and specialist lines portfolio.
“We are delighted to introduce our new brand to the Southern Africa market. Taking the best of our legacy forward, our new African brand sets the tone for what we aim to achieve within the industry, with the backing of our global parent company, Fairfax,” says Edwyn O’Neill, CEO at Bryte Insurance.
O’Neill continues, “Our ambition is to be the premier, proactive business risk specialist in Southern Africa, while also investing significantly in the development of a transformed generation of new insurance practitioners. Applying our unparalleled sector insights, proven expertise and foresight, we partner with customers and brokers to protect their businesses and improve their risk profiles across the continent.”
While the company has rebranded and the strategy has evolved, O’Neill says that it is business as usual at Bryte Insurance. This means that all policies and agreements under Zurich remain in place and will be duly honoured. Furthermore, the senior leadership team responsible for achieving the well-acknowledged business turnaround, will continue to be instrumental in driving the growth and sustainability of the business under its new identity.
“As before, we are committed to, and deeply invested in, our intermediated broker partnership model. A fundamental element of our strategy going forward will be creating a business that endures; one that is deeply focused on customer and partner value-add – that means creating opportunities for mutual success for all brokers within our network.
We will continue to prioritise profitability and strive to be the benchmark for service excellence and the go to service provider for forward-looking, informed and proactive risk management in South Africa’s insurance sector,” concludes O’Neill.
About Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited (Fairfax)
Fairfax is a holding company which, through its subsidiaries, is engaged in property and casualty insurance and reinsurance and investment management.