GUARDRISK HOLDINGS LIMITED

PROGRESS ON TRANSFORMATION & BLACK ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT
JUNE 2010

Guardrisk Holdings Limited (incorporating Guardrisk Insurance, Guardrisk Life and Guardrisk Allied Products and Services) has been issued with a new BBB ratings certificate by the independent rating agency Empowerdex in terms of the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI’s) Generic Codes of Good Practice on Black Economic Empowerment (Generic Codes).

In terms of this latest Empowerdex rating, Guardrisk has been certified as a “Level Three Contributor” status which is a significant improvement from the “Level Four Contributor” status achieved last year. This Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) status is in terms of the generic scorecard that is found in the DTI’s Generic Codes.  The latest certificate was issued on the 26th of May 2010 is valid for a one year period until the 25th of May 2011.  The company also maintains its value adding supplier status which coupled with its Level Three Contributor status means clients procuring from Guardrisk can count 137.5% or R137,50 for every R100 of their spend towards their BEE procurement scores.

The scoring in respect of the DTI’s Generic Codes of Good Practice on B-BBEE takes into account the scores achieved by the company as measured against various weighted targets for the following seven elements that comprise the Generic Scorecard:

Ownership Management Control Employment Equity Skills Development Preferential Procurement Enterprise Development Socio-Economic Initiatives

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Year on year, the company improved its total points scoring from 68.22 last year to 78.94 measured out of a total of 100 points available on the Generic Scorecard.  Going forward, in terms of its BEE strategy it is aiming to further improve the scoring over the next two years whilst maintaining the Level Three Contributor status. 

The company remains committed to contributing to the achievement of its transformation objectives, those of its holding company and those of the wider financial sector within which the company operates.  This commitment is pursued through the application and pursuit of a broad based approach to transformation and black economic empowerment.

Executive management have reaffirmed their commitment to the company’s transformation objectives and will continue to monitor current initiatives as well as implement further initiatives as part of the strategy to incorporate B-BBEE into the wider company objectives to ensure the sustainability of transformation and broad based black economic empowerment and simultaneously enhance shareholder value. The strategy is contained in a formal document that the executive management team updates and submits to the Board on an annual basis.  

To view or download a copy of the company’s 2010 “Level Three Contributor” certificate issued in terms of the DTI’s Generic Codes, please click here.

The company also subscribed to the Financial Sector Charter’s (FSC) Codes of Good Practice on BEE and was measured on an annual basis by the Financial Sector Charter Council, the last of which was the 2008 calendar year submission to the Council. The rating achieved was an “A” rating which is the highest rating achievable in terms of the FSC scorecard. 
To view or download a copy of the company’s 2008 “A Rating” certificate issued on the 31st of August 2009 in terms of the FSC’s Codes, please click here.

For more information, you can contact our Chief Risk Officer, Maxwell Sibanda at the e-mail address sibandam@guardrisk.co.za or on telephone number +27 11 669 - 1060.