COMPANY PROFILE

1st for Women Insurance Company caters exclusively for the needs of South African women.

Over the years, 1st for Women has become an advocate for women, and its social arm, the 1st for Women Insurance Trust, has raised over R11 million for South African women in need.

Besides allowing female motorists’ to benefit from cheaper vehicle insurance premiums, 1st for Women also handles a wide range of products and benefits that have been designed with South African women in mind.

Because these products and benefits have been designed for women, they are different from the normal array of insurance products out there that have historically been designed for men, by men.

In 2010, 1st for Women was voted as the top short-term insurance brand in the Sunday Times Top Brand Awards.

Read on to find out more about 1st for Women’s history and value proposition.

BRAND HISTORY

In 2002, research revealed that the number of women taking out their own insurance policies was increasing and that there was a gap in the market to offer these women an insurance product catering for their unique requirements.

It was also understood that statistically, women are lower insurance risks than their male counterparts and the cost to repair a vehicle crashed by women is on average, lower than the cost of damage caused by men.

This trend, an international insurance phenomenon, is further supported by statistics from the UK which found that the cost of the average car claim by an 18-year old man was £4,400, while that of an 18-year old woman was £2,700. In South Africa, the cost of the average car claim by an 18-year old male averaged R11 997.00, while that for an 18-year old woman averaged R8668.00.

With this information in mind, and the fact that at the time, the majority of financial services companies still used sales processes and approaches tailored to meet the needs and expectations of the people who historically bought most financial products and services — men, we set out to create a product tailor-made for women that offered them lower insurance premiums because they are better insurance risks.

Before launching this unique product, many people spent much time pondering the age old question, "What do women want?"

Although even Sigmund Freud couldn’t work this conundrum out, we think we’re on the right track – combining an insurance solution for women with supportive products that make the difference between a holistic lifestyle support solution and a mere product offering.

DIRECTORS

T.J. Creamer  L. Vermaak  J.W. Wilken  E. Links**  S. Klinkert**  D. Loxton**  N.S.P. Mew* **  P. Pettersen**  J. Stransky**  
A. Weilbach**  H. Griffiths**

*British **Non-Executive

Company Secretary: RJ Pretorius