The Santam Group (Group), South Africa’s largest general insurer, has appointed experienced industry leader Curt Meyer as Executive Head of Pan-Africa and International, in its specialist business unit.
The creation of a dedicated new executive role for international growth within the Santam Specialist Solutions (SSS) business unit, reflects the Group’s commitment to expansion beyond its South African core base. The focus of the new function will be on diversification and growth in selected Pan-African and international markets, that include the Middle East, India and South-East Asia.
“This new role reinforces our ambition to build stronger partnerships, deliver specialist insurance solutions, and create sustainable value for clients, brokers and business partners across these regions,” said Gareth Beaver, CEO of SSS.
“Curt brings extensive leadership experience, strong technical expertise and deep commercial insight within the specialist insurance sector. His appointment marks an important milestone in our journey to broaden our reach and enhance the value we deliver beyond South Africa,” he added.
Meyer has more than two decades of experience in the industry, that includes a period as CEO of Mirabilis Engineering Insurance Specialists, Santam’s construction and engineering insurance division, before it was amalgamated into the Group. More recently, he served as Executive Head of Corporate Property, Construction & Engineering and Marine within the SSS business unit.
Meyer is a BA (Law) graduate and possesses an MBA from the Milpark Business School.
Commenting on the appointment, he is excited about the new opportunity.
“This appointment ensures that I can now fully focus on positioning our business to provide support to our GIFT City office in India, to our ongoing collaboration through Sanlam Allianz, and other international growth opportunities. This is a strategic investment in the future of Santam. We are building a scalable platform for growth, strengthening our presence in priority markets and supporting our partners with specialist risk solutions wherever they do business,” said Meyer.
International diversification and expansion is a key strategic pillar of Santam’s FutureFit 2030 strategy. During the recent announcement of the Group’s interim results for the period ended 30 June 2026, the company revealed that Gross Written Premium (GWP) growth from outside South Africa had contributed to 23% of the total GWP, a jump from 20% in June 2025. Santam’s goal is that international operations should contribute to 30% of total GWP growth by 2030.