Guardrisk Insurance, a subsidiary of MMI Holdings, is a cell captive insurance company specialising in alternative risk transfer.
Since launching the cell captive concept in South Africa in 1993, Guardrisk has established an international footprint in Mauritius and Gibraltar, which offers clients a solution for offshore risks.
Guardrisk Insurance has been rated Baa3 on the global scale and Aaa.za on the national scale by Moody’s Investor Service. The company has been ranked as South Africa’s top alternative risk transfer insurer in a biennial survey Africa undertaken by Price Waterhouse Coopers since 2006.
Guardrisk provides customised solutions to help companies insure and finance their risk exposures efficiently by undertaking a strategic study of the risk exposures and engineering solutions to manage and finance them. The result is a three-part solution which enables the client to determine how much to spend on:
- preventative measures
- predictable risk
- catastrophic risk
The cell concept enables clients to insure their risk exposures through an equity participation in Guardrisk known as a "cell". Cell captives provide underwriting, reinsurance, claims management, investment and accounting functions to clients (cell owners) who effectively enjoy all the benefits of owning their own insurance company without the inherent cost and administrative implications.
This keeps costs down and gives clients access to a broad base of insurance skills and benefits traditionally enjoyed by short-term insurers.