AVBOB Integrated Annual Report 2018

Sustainability, Corporate Citizenship and the AVBOB family We believe that as a mutual, AVBOB provides financial security and prosperity to communities and individuals. As a mutual, it is essential to ensure that the manner in which we contribute towards the sustainability of our world will secure the future of our business. Our primary objective remains the protection of the financial wellbeing of our policyholders both for a current misfortune and in terms of their long-term funeral insurance needs. The Group recognises that it operates in an environment where political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal factors have an impact on all our stakeholders. We are committed to a policy of effective communication and engagement with our stakeholders on issues of mutual interest and are mindful of our statutory and regulatory obligations. The Group’s corporate reputation, which positions AVBOB as a caring family, has been built over the past 100 years. The Group has served South Africans from all walks of life for a century and we are committed to serving our people for decades to come. We believe that Corporate Social Responsibility requires sincere endeavours to improve the quality of people’s lives by making contributions to and investments in their future. To deliver on our brand promise, ‟We’re here for you”, we invest in communities across South Africa through our support of literacy and education programmes, including our sponsorship of container libraries and trolley libraries and our continued partnership with the Department of Basic Education on various educational programmes. We further demonstrate our commitment to the development of entrepreneurship by empowering local township entrepreneurs to manage and run their own funeral undertaking enterprises. In addition to community projects, sponsorship of cultural events and our continued support of the Mzanzi Youth Choir since 2013, R4,1 milion was invested to provide free and discounted funeral services in disadvantaged communities. Compliance with Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment and Employment Equity legislation remains a business imperative. The Group retained its level 2 contributor status under the Financial Sector Code promulgated on 1December 2017. As at 30 June 2018, 95%of the total staff complement consisted of black employees and our workplace comprised of 70% female employees. The Group has made great strides in the accommodation and development of people living with disabilities. In addition to the learnerships and training provided to people living with disabilities, focus was placed on disability awareness programmes. Closing The Group’s operating environment continues to become more competitive and economically challenging. New competitors have entered our market. We are addressing these challenges by ensuring that our products remain competitive and by providing excellent customer service. We will continue to build on our competitive advantage of being a mutual and being the only Group that can offer a one-stop service, from insurance to the conducting of the funeral. I would like to express my gratitude to everyone who has contributed to our 100 years of success and made AVBOB the family that it is today, especially my fellow Directors on the Board, management, employees, intermediaries and our pensioners. May the next century continue to enable the AVBOB family to grow and prosper. JF RADEMAN CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER 22