A New Chapter in Insurance
Hazel Chimhandamba, Chief Marketing Officer of Hollard
I am thrilled to share insights into our recent brand repositioning and the journey we’ve embarked on to reshape not only Hollard’s image but also how insurance is perceived in South Africa.
Our goal is to shift the narrative, moving away from the traditional doom-and-gloom approach often associated with insurance, and instead, focusing on empowering customers through understanding and partnership.
“Our purpose as a company is clear—we exist to create better futures for our customers, partners, and stakeholders”
At Hollard, our history is rooted in the belief that there must always be a better way of doing things. As we undertook the brand repositioning, we asked ourselves how we could improve the way insurance is traditionally communicated and sold. The answer was clear: we needed to move away from fear-based messaging and toward a more positive, lighthearted approach.
While we don’t take ourselves too seriously, we are serious about our business and our customers. This mindset informed the creative direction of our new campaign. We want to show that insurance doesn’t have to be intimidating or overly complicated. Instead, it can be a service that genuinely helps customers live with confidence, knowing they are protected. Our campaign reflects this idea by taking a more playful, yet sincere approach, reinforcing our promise to our customers in a way that feels true to who we are as a brand.
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We believe insurance should not be about fear; it should be about security and empowerment. This insight was key in our decision to reposition the Hollard brand. Our mission is to highlight the true value of insurance in a way that resonates with customers and shows them how insurance can enhance their overall financial well-being.
Everything we do at Hollard is centered around our purpose, which is to create and enable better futures for our customers, partners and stakeholders. We take our customers’ needs seriously and—we want to be a partner in our customers’ financial journeys. Whether it’s helping them recover from loss or providing peace of mind, our products and services are designed to create value and security in their lives.
We recognise that many people, particularly those in underserved communities, are often excluded from traditional insurance offerings. At Hollard, we are committed to bridging this divide. We’ve worked hard to develop competitive insurance solutions that cater to individuals in densely populated areas such as informal settlements, where the fire risks are real and often devastating.
Our partnerships allow us to extend coverage to communities that would otherwise struggle to access insurance. These partnerships expand our distribution network, helping us reach even the most vulnerable customers. We also recognise that small claims in our communities can have a huge impact on lives and livelihoods.
On the commercial insurance front, our partnership with Tokio Marine gives us access to specialised insurance propositions and global expertise, while our local knowledge and distribution network ensures that we can tailor our offerings to meet the specific needs of our customers in their local regions.
As we reposition the Hollard brand, Hollard International is also on a growth trajectory and has expanded its footprint into 10 countries on the African continent.
We’ve seen that different regions in South Africa experience risks in unique ways, particularly as weather patterns become increasingly unpredictable. This has driven us to localise our offerings, ensuring that we have the right specialist products and leadership in place to serve each market. By combining international expertise with local insight, we are able to offer solutions that are both innovative and highly relevant to our customers.
Repositioning a brand is certainly not something that happens overnight. It’s a journey. While we’ve made great strides in redefining how we present ourselves to the market, we see this as an ongoing process. We will continue to put the customer at the center of everything we do, constantly seeking out better ways to serve them and improve their experience with insurance.
Our recent campaign reflects this commitment. It’s not just about a slogan or a new logo—it’s about changing how customers perceive insurance and how they interact with our brand. We’re moving from a model of uncertainty and fear to one of trust, empowerment, and partnership. Our message is clear: leave the uncertainties to us. Life is full of unknowns, but we’re here to make sure our customers can face them with confidence.
As we move forward with our repositioning, we are excited about the future. This campaign is just the beginning of a new chapter for Hollard, and we are looking forward to working closely with our brokers, partners, and customers to continue delivering on our promise of enabling better futures. Our approach to insurance may be different, but we believe it’s the right one.
By challenging the status quo and putting our customers first, we are confident that we can make insurance more accessible, more understandable, and ultimately, more valuable for everyone. We look forward to sharing this journey with you.