Gareth Beaver, CEO of SHA Risk Specialists, says that the new corporate identity is an articulation of the brand promise that SHA was built on and demonstrates how the business has evolved alongside the changing risk landscape.

"The yellow circle in the new logo represents longevity, consistency and simplicity. What is inside the circle is protected from the outside and is representative of our core business of providing our clients with protection against their risks," Beaver says.

"Over the years, there have been key dynamics both within our business and external industry-wide factors that have changed. SHA has experienced shareholder changes, mergers, acquisitions, leadership changes and regulatory and competitor developments — all of which have influenced and shaped the company," he adds.

"The new brand and image reflect the key elements of our past success factors: strength, longevity, solutions and expertise, as well as some of our aspirations, which we feel will drive us towards even greater success into the future," says Beaver.

He adds, "SHA started out as a privately owned business and was managed by the founding members for many years. As the first specialist liability risk underwriter in South Africa, SHA has its roots deeply entrenched in a culture of innovation."

"Over the years, SHA progressed to a professionally managed and corporate-owned business and has managed to maintain its market leader position while navigating a more complex world of risk and regulation — not to mention a far more competitive environment," he says.

Many elements in the new brand design also aim to pay homage to parent company Santam, which has played a part in building SHA to the market frontrunner that it is today.

"Santam became the 100% shareholder of SHA a number of years ago. We currently form part of Santam’s niche business cluster, and issue and administer insurance policies on behalf of Santam Limited. Being part of this group has allowed us to build valuable connections and uphold our position in a fiercely competitive market," says Beaver.

"Santam Limited, which is majority owned by Sanlam Limited, is the largest short-term insurers on the African continent (with 101 years of experience), so it made sense for us to visibly reflect our relationship with this strong group in our own brand," he adds.

He concludes, "We took a journey of deep self-reflection to reaffirm our purpose, the values we identify with, our business mission and vision, and what we believe defines and distinguishes SHA’s customer experience. Our new optics symbolise what we have learned in that process, and how we utilise our assets and partnerships to position ourselves for the future."

For more information, visit www.sha.co.za. You can also follow SHA on Facebook or on Twitter.