After suffering from bad publicity due to allegations of unethical sales practices, South African-owned insurer Youi has revealed a slowdown in growth, it has been reported.
Youi experienced a decline in its rapid expansion as joint chief executives Willem Roos and Laurie Dippenaar warned that “new business volumes have come under pressure” in Australia, following negative publicity over its alleged billing of customers for policies they did not want,
The Australian reported.
Although Youi continued to gain market share over the second half of the 2016 financial year, the rate of its gross written premium has dropped to 12.3 per cent from 35 per cent the previous financial year, 57 per cent in 2014, and growth of nearly 70 per cent in 2013, the report said.
James Coghill, UBS analyst, said Youi’s growth rate was no longer materially different to that of its competitors Insurance Australia Group and
Suncorp. Youi has gross written premium of $668 million.
Macquarie analysts are expecting that about a quarter of the market will be controlled by challenger brands and banks that are increasingly venturing into insurance by the end of 2018.
Coghill said it was not surprising to see “management tempering future growth expectations” following the bad press Youi received about sales breaches in New Zealand and Australia.
Youi is owned by Rand Merchant Investment Holdings and entered the Australian market in 2008.
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