A spot in the final ten

The Insurance Apprentice, a reality styled series competition where contestants are filmed over a one-week period, is about harnessing skills, attracting more people to the insurance industry, and educating the wider world about the fact that insurance is about more than call centres and funeral policies.

This series premiered in 2015 and has successfully shot and produced eight seasons to date. Currently, season 9 is under way, where we have begun our search for the top 10 who will take part in the 2023 edition.

It began with 113 applications… and at the end, 90 went through to the elimination rounds, and what a journey it was!

Rehash of elimination rounds
Some interesting activities took place at this year’s elimination rounds as Aon South Africa set the bar high with central themes set on a myriad of important business skills ranging from the ability to think innovatively and creatively, to collaboration and business principles. Most of the tasks were set to test individuals to think “on their feet” and it is also meant a fun day.

The elimination rounds were once again held in Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg to give all contestants an equal and fair chance and to try and suss out the best of the best. There was a massive variety of contestants, all different, and all up for the challenge. As the last of the three rounds came to an end, it became apparent that the judges had a truly difficult task ahead of them in selecting the top 30.

We would like to thank Aon South Africa for being the title sponsor of the elimination rounds, and for sending their colleagues to oversee the elimination rounds. We would also like to thank Norton Rose Fulbright for hosting the Durban elimination round, Old Mutual for hosting the Cape Town elimination round and Santam for hosting the Johannesburg elimination round.

A big thank you to the panel members who assisted us in the elimination rounds for their support, participation and commitment – Clayton Ellary (Aon South Africa), Donald Dinnie (Norton Rose Fulbright South Africa), Fiona Fitzpatrick (IF Administrators), Gay- lynn Rheeders (My Career in Insurance NPC), Koni Magatshavha (Bryte Insurance), Marisa Grundling (Milpark Education), Molatelo Matjeni (Old Mutual Insure), Mutoda Mahamba (Solvency), Natasha Kley (Aon South Africa), Sandra Snowball (Financial Intermediaries Association (FIA)), Sebastian Reddy (Old Mutual Insure), Sinazo Nduzulwana (My Career in Insurance NPC), Siphamandla Dube (Hollard Insure), Susan Newell (Paton Personnel) and Tarina Vlok (Elite Risk Acceptances).

To view photos of the elimination round, visit Facebook to get a taste of the competition.

What’s next?
In the next round the Top 30 contestants will gather for another round of eliminations. This will be filmed and will be aired as Episode 1 of TIA2023. It was important for us to share the journey with our audience of how we got to the Top 10, and this year we are sharing more of this process than ever before… and we are very excited about it. Filming of series 9 will take place from 23 to 27 January 2023. The series will be aired from March 2023 (weekly) via the FAnews and The Insurance Apprentice websites, YouTube channels and Facebook.

Be sure to tune in again for some edutainment, amazing prize giveaways and let’s not forget, those Continuing Professional Development (CPD) hours!

Proud sponsors of #TIA2023
In showing support here are our #TIA2023 sponsors – thank you for your support and sponsorship:

Platinum
Hollard Insure
Old Mutual Insure

Gold
Discovery Insure
Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA)
Marsh
Sasria SOC Ltd
SHA Risk Specialists
The Insurance Crime Bureau
XonRisk

Silver
Aon South Africa
Bryte Insurance
Elite Risk Acceptances

Bronze
Genasys
Insurance Institute of South Africa (IISA)
Milpark Education
MUA Insurance Acceptances
Paton Personnel
Santam
Tracker

Our prize sponsors
Whether they’re in the top 10 or the winner of The Insurance Apprentice 2023, the contestants also get to walk away with awesome prizes. On top of a few Bronze sponsors giving prizes, we also have a few additional prize sponsors this year. Thank you, Emerald Risk Transfer and Global Choices, (and a few great ones on the way).

On a final note…
The contestants have worked hard to get to this point we wish them all the best. We cannot wait to reveal who our Top 10 will be… but don’t get too excited because you will only meet them next year.