Businesses that operate within the insurance industry are faced with an environment that is constantly changing and increasingly complex. In the face of it, the insurance industry plays an essential role in supporting a sustainable South African economy.

Talksure’s Ugeshnee Veerasamy Moodliar, was awarded her Master of Business Administration (MBA) cum laude, when? A vital requirement of her degree was the completion of a dissertation which explored the factors that affect lapse rates in the short-term insurance industry. Supervised by Professor Mihalis Chasomeris of which institution?, the study investigated the policy holder characteristics that determine short-term insurance lapse rates; the macroeconomic variables that influence lapse rates, and how short-term insurers manage the lapse.

‘The findings from my research indicated that product type, gender, cluster group, policy duration and sum insured have a statistically significant influence on lapse rates. However, the macroeconomic variables examined were found to exhibit a weak significant correlation with short-term insurance lapse rates,’ explained Ugeshnee.

The findings revealed in Ugeshnee’s study will be beneficial to not only Talksure as an accredited financial services provider operating in the industry , but also to many other industry stakeholders such as financial intermediaries, insurance underwriters, and administrators. “We may all remember a time where Covid-19 was a significant contributor to lapse-rates, however with the constantly changing socio-economic environments, there is an integral need to understand how to manage these lapses, cater to our clients changing needs and implement strategies to improve client retention. We are grateful to have Ugeshnee in our midst, and look forward to the contributions her studies can make to Talksure and the industry,” said Tim Frost, Managing Director at Talksure.

Ugeshnee was also a recent recipient of the Performance Excellence award at Talksure for her excellent standard of delivery to her colleagues and the business. Achieving all of this whilst being an expectant mother are achievements which speak to Ugeshnee’s positive and solutions oriented approach to any task placed before her. “I look forward to carrying the knowledge gained during my studies. The MBA program and my research have connected me more to the industry and I am eager to adapt it to our environment,” she added.

Ugeshnee, you inspire us!