RAND MUTUAL ASSURANCE: A Constant Source of Warmth, Compassion and Care

“RMA is the warm African sunrise that welcomes warmth, comfort and care to the lives we touch,” sets out the non-profit, mutual assurance organisation owned by its policy holders. “As an organisation that is compassionate and caring, RMA goes the extra mile to ensure that beneficiaries and their families receive the care and compensation they are entitled to when they have sustained either a work-related injury or occupational disease.”

Herein lies the core of RMA’s administration business, in the receipt, adjudication and administration of workers’ compensation claims, including the payment of medical costs, one-off disability payments and the ongoing payment of pensions in the case of severe disability and death – all according to the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (COIDA), with principal focuses on the mining and metals sector.

“RMA’s high level of service and quick claims turnaround is underpinned by a market-leading integrated claims management IT system that allows for paperless adjudication of claims,” it says of a further layer of superior service levels. A wide footprint makes RMA easily accessible to its clients, claimants and other stakeholders, through a head office in Johannesburg and regional walk-in branches in Carletonville, Cape Town, Durban, eMalahleni, Johannesburg, Klerksdorp, Pretoria, Rustenburg and Welkom, as well as satellite offices in Lesotho, Mthatha and Mozambique.

“No matter what a day may bring,” the organisation assures, “RMA is our client’s constant source of warmth, compassion and care when life hands them challenges that seem too hard to face alone.”

MUTUAL ASSOCIATION

Identifying a need to help care for miners who were injured while on duty, RMA was founded in 1894 by three mining companies on the Witwatersrand as a non-profit mutual assurance company, and to this day remains a mutual association whereby policy holders are also shareholders. RMA Life Assurance Company Limited (RMA Life) was also established in 1990 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of RMA, to manage the pension benefits payable to claimants and their beneficiaries.

“Whether clients are injured on duty, ill or pass away and leave family behind, we are here to make life stress-free with a range of policies,” RMA promises. “You are in safe hands with RMA; we are passionate about caring for the lives of our claimants and their families, and embody our brand promise of caring, compassionate, compensation at every level of the organisation.”

An exhaustive array of products come together to represent an unparalleled helping hand in seeing employees through times of difficulty, whether injured or ill on duty. “With the complete range of occupational insurance products, we can offer you a bespoke group cover policy to meet your company’s needs,” RMA explains. Crime and injury are covered against when commuting, as are group personal accident and injury at work or work-related events.

International COID ensures employees who work outside South Africa can still enjoy workers cover for occupational disability or diseases, and in the worst imaginable circumstances affordable group funeral plans are offered to companies for the benefit of their employees and provide a lump-sum payment to cover costs related to a funeral.

Value-added products, available to RMA as it operates under both short- and long-term insurance licences issued by the Financial Services Board (FSB), were pinpointed by Group CFO Kyansambo Vundla last year as housing some of the most lucrative opportunities for growth. “We’ve identified the strategy to ‘build a business of significance’,” she revealed in October. “With a legacy of 127 years behind us, I think we have a trusted brand in the industry, and with a new executive committee to take us forward, it’s an exciting time.”

SOCIAL IMPACT

“RMA lives by its caring and compassionate way,” it sums up. “We see it as a privilege to help communities further their skills; we enjoy seeing people being educated, reaching for their dreams and achieving their goals. We live to see the joy on people’s faces when they’re empowered and improve their standard of living.

“Lending a helping hand is what warms our hearts.” RMA has invested generously in Enterprise Development (ED), what it sees as a powerful tool in assisting in job creation and addressing poverty. “The entrepreneurship pillar of RMA’s Social Impact Strategy reflects our sustainable approach to development and collaboration with key stakeholders. Helping entrepreneurs across South Africa will help lead to significant socio-economic growth.”

Most notably, RMA has contributed to South African entrepreneurship development via more than R58 million in funding, made up of an R19.6 million total spend on ED, and R39.3 million investment in Supplier Development (SD), both in 2020. “The intent is to support businesses during their formative years, enabling them to scale, create more jobs and subsequently boost the local economy,” RMA explains.

“Our entrepreneurship projects are divided into Supplier Development Initiatives and Enterprise Development Initiatives, which address the unique needs of each business. In the last few years, over 20 businesses and partners have formed part of these ongoing initiatives and benefited from fruitful entrepreneurship opportunities.”

The funding is made through an enterprise development programme which, over a three-year period, sees RMA cover a large portion of the beneficiaries’ operating and capital expenses. Beneficiaries participate in entrepreneurship programmes and training to eventually become fully independent in terms of operations and finances.

“South Africa has one of the highest failure rates for SMMEs, with five out of seven failing in the first year,” is the stark fact. “RMA is on a mission to improve the success rates of enterprises by encouraging strategic entrepreneurship and innovation that uplifts their surrounding communities.”

“The support we provide to SMEs in our supply chain enables them to create more jobs, achieve higher revenues and reach sustainable operating levels that are independent of our support. RMA provides support in the form of salaries, office rental, IT equipment, furniture, travel, and other office operating costs.”

Responsible investing represents another key arm of a wide-reaching CSR programme which allows encompasses financial education and inclusion, innovative skills development and diversity and inclusion. “Responsible investing is a broad-based approach that factors in people, society and the environment, and allows RMA to collaborate with a range of medium-sized businesses in various industries that exhibit major growth,” it delineates, having committed to contributing R125 million over a 10-year period to South African businesses.

“RMA’s Social Impact Strategy is designed to promote economic growth, empower marginalised communities, and alleviate poverty in South Africa. It serves as a definitive plan with measurable outcomes, ensuring that we can make an immediate social impact.”