In 2018, Sanlam Indie made a massive loss; the company only sold a few hundred policies and its small team was falling apart. Just called ‘Indie’ at the time, the digital business was an entirely separate brand, with no obvious connection to Sanlam. Ask Edwin Theron, head of product and pricing at Sanlam Indie, why the brand was struggling and he’ll tell you that it has a lot to do with the fact that that it was an unknown player in an industry that sells on trust.

“We certainly weren’t the poster child for innovation and success,” adds David Küsel, chief product officer at Sanlam Indie.