Protests cost more than R300m

11 May 2018 - 11:20
By Penwell Dlamini
Mahikeng protest over the removal of Supra Mahumapelo as the Premier of North West turn violent.
Image: Tiro Ramatlhatse Mahikeng protest over the removal of Supra Mahumapelo as the Premier of North West turn violent.

Protests pushed up claims paid by the SA Special Risk Insurance Association (Sasria) in 2017.

In its 2017 financial report‚ the company said it paid over R760-million in claims‚ up by 30.8% from the previous year. Insurance claims related to violent protests and riots swelled 31% in the past year.

The country has been battling with student protests at the beginning of the academic year and also service delivery protests‚ which both left a trail of damage to buildings and other infrastructure.

According to Sasria‚ the biggest insurance claims came from student and service delivery protests. The actual number of claims increased by 22% and the severity increased by 29%.

Service delivery and student protests remained the biggest drivers of the claims at over R300-million.