Author: seb

Dear Readers,We just wished you a happy holiday season, and now we're already in the second quarter of 2025! We have noticed an increased number of tourists that travelled this summer to Cape Town, which is now drawing to a close. The weather was wonderful, and our winegrowers are also extremely pleased with the results of their 2025 harvest. Below you will find the latest issue of our newsletter. As usual, we have included information across the board regarding investments, short-term insurance, immigration and other related topics.

Dear Readers,South African consumers have been blessed over the last months. Inflation is the lowest since March 2021, the Rand is stable, fuel prices have dropped almost 10% compared to last year and the rating agency Standard & Poor’s has lifted SA's credit rating to positive. Further interest rate cuts are also on the cards, giving homeowners more financial relief.It is also the first time in many years that we can report positive news from the Department of Home Affairs. Our new minister, Mr Leon Schreiber, is not only busy with clearing a backlog of visas and permanent residence applications, but also has gazetted the first of what we must hope are sweeping reforms for work visa applications. Please read more about it further below.We are excited to announce a visit from our overseas investment partner, Sonnenberg Wealth Management. They will be holding presentations in February next year on where to invest in 2025 and introducing sustainable investing. If you are interested, you can pre-book your seat by clicking here, or further below in the article.On a different note, another year is coming to an end very soon. We wish you and your family a joyous festive season and a healthy and successful 2025!

Dear Readers,We welcome you to the winter edition of our Newsletter.Our national elections have come and gone with a positive outcome. The ANC is no longer solely in charge and the establishment of Government of National Unity in its current form is unprecedented in the history of South Africa. Citizens are hopeful that the new structure will result in a better service delivery and less corruption.On a different note, the insurance premium landscape is changing quickly: Weather-related claims are escalating and driving up reinsurance costs. The catastrophic events over the last years marks the departure from South Africa's previous status as a Catastrophic Event (CAT) free zone. This trend is not isolated to South Africa. It is a global phenomenon reshaping the insurance industry's sustainability because of climate change. Unfortunately, consumers will soon have to brace themselves for large premium increases. An actual example is the insurance of thatch buildings. Reinsurance costs have surged and made it impossible for local insurers to offer the coverage at the same rates. Most insurance companies can no longer afford to accept any thatch risks.As usual, we have included information across the board regarding investments, short-term insurance, immigration and other related topics. This newsletter can also be viewed under https://www.swissfin.co.za/newsletters/swissfin-swisssure-newsletter-july-2024/.

Dear Readers,We welcome you to our first Newsletter for 2024.The recent budget speech by our finance minister is the main topic in this circular. The government’s decision to reduce debt by accessing the profits on South Africa’s gold and foreign exchange reserves, creates fears that the Reserve Bank’s independence is at risk. Please find more information further below.As a novelty to our newsletter, we will regularly publish the investment outlook of our Swiss partner, Sonnenberg Wealth Management. As usual, we have included information for you across the board regarding insurance, immigration, taxation and other related topics.

Dear Readers,We are very excited to announce our new strategic partnership with Sonnenberg Wealth Management. They are asset managers based in Zurich/Switzerland and one of their notable key offerings is the integration of a sustainable investment philosophy, following the United Nations sustainable development goals. We will represent them in South Africa and you can find more information on Sonnenberg Wealth Management further down in this newsletter.On a different note, another year is coming fast to an end. We wish you and your family a joyous festive season and a healthy and successful 2024!

Dear Readers,We welcome you to the winter edition of our Newsletter. The winter in the Western Cape has hit us hard with early rainfalls and heavy storms. Even the KZN region has experienced unusually high rainfalls for this time of year.Many affected areas are busy with mop-up operations and insurance companies are inundated with claims. For all affected clients, insurers and assessors are asking for patience as they attend to the settlement of claims. As usual, we have included information across the board regarding investments, short-term insurance, immigration and other related topics. This newsletter can also be viewed under https://www.swissfin.co.za/newsletters/swissfin-swisssure-newsletter-july-2023/

Dear Readers,We welcome you to our first Newsletter for 2023.The budget speech by our finance minister and some insights in the economic challenges of our country, like the grey-listing by the Financial Action Task Force, fill the headlines of this newsletter. As usual, we have included information for you across the board regarding insurance, immigration, taxation and other related topics.

Dear Readers,Another eventful year is coming to an end. A year that was no longer defined by COVID 19 and lockdowns, but has kept us on our toes due to the ongoing problems of the power supply. We will also overcome this hurdle and look confidently into a good and prosperous 2023. We would like to thank all of our clients for your loyal support. We wish you and your family a joyous festive season and a safe arrival to your destinations should you be travelling.

Dear Readers,We welcome you to the winter edition of our Newsletter. As usual, we have included information across the board regarding investments, short-term insurance, taxes, immigration and other related topics. This newsletter can also be viewed under https://www.swissfin.co.za/newsletters/swissfin-swisssure-newsletter-august-2022/

Dear Readers,We welcome you to our first Newsletter for 2022.We are very excited to announce that Swiss Financial Consulting CC (“SwissFin”) is celebrating its 30th birthday this year. We would like to thank all our clients, some of them that have been with us from day one, for your loyalty and support over the last 3 decades. We have always strived to be close to our clients, to deliver personal and trustworthy service. We are looking forward to being of service to you for many years to come!

Dear Readers,We welcome you to the winter edition of our Newsletter.South Africa has moved to lockdown stage 3 and the vaccination drive of the Government has picked up momentum with over 3 Mio citizens being fully vaccinated so far. There are millions more of vaccines arriving in South Africa over the next few weeks. More great news came from the past Olympics, where the South African swimmer, Tatjana Schoenmaker, striked SA’s first Olympic gold and smashed the world record in the 200m breaststroke.

Dear Readers,We welcome you to our first Newsletter for 2021.The autumn weather is slowly heading towards Cape Town and we had our first stormy rains, which are always very welcome. The “Corona-front” is becoming less stormy and we are happy to have moved towards the lowest lockdown level, which almost feels back to normality.As usual in our newsletter, we have included information for you across the board regarding insurance, immigration, taxation and other related topics.This newsletter can be viewed under https://www.swissfin.co.za/newsletters/swissfin-swisssure-newsletter-march-2021/.Our Team would like to wish you a wonderful Easter Weekend and good luck with the Easter egg hunt!Enjoy the reading, with best regards, Your SwissFin / SwissSure – Team Your SwissFin / SwissSure – Team

Dear Readers,We are coming to an end of a year that made history and will be remembered for a long time.Whilst some of the articles in this newsletter are still Covid-related, other articles show that we are hopefully heading for more normal times again. As we stand on the brink of a new decade, we are entering a period of high uncertainty and considerable challenges – economically, politically, technologically, and socially.As usual, we have also included information across the board regarding investments, short-term insurance, immigration and other related topics. This newsletter can also be viewed under https://www.swissfin.co.za/newsletters/swissfin-swisssure-newsletter-december-2020/.We would like to thank all our clients for their loyal support over a difficult period. We wish you and your family an enjoyable Christmas time and hope the New Year will bring in much prosperity and happiness for you.Enjoy the reading, with best regards,Your SwissFin / SwissSure – Team

Dear Readers,We welcome you to the latest edition of our Newsletter.We are excited to share some positive and interesting articles with you, although our headlines are still dominated by the Covid-19 implications. Following a recent Western Cape High Court case, which was ruled in favour of the policyholder, commercial insurers are coming to the party and are settling Covid-related claims. You will find detailed information under the short-term chapter further below.

Dear Readers,We welcome you to our first Newsletter for 2020.We would have loved to share more positive information with you, but matters like the Covid-19 virus, lockdowns, rating downgrades and recession fears fill our newsletter headlines as well. Our focus in this newsletter is the impact of the virus on your short-term insurance policy, health insurance and migration matters.As usual, we have also included information for you across the board and this newsletter can be viewed under:https://www.swissfin.co.za/newsletters/swissfin-swisssure-newsletter-april-2020/We wish you and your loved ones good health during these challenging times and please do not hesitate to get in touch with us if you have any queries.Your SwissFin / SwissSure – Team

Dear Readers,We have a full newsletter to close off this year. The focus is the introduction of the National Health Insurance (NHI) bill, which has been heavily criticised in the press over the last few months. Please find our summary and comments further below.As we are heading into the holiday season, we also would like to highlight the pitfalls of travel insurance policies. Many people assume they have automatic travel cover by paying the travel costs by credit card, which can be a dangerous assumption. Christmas and the summer holidays are just around the corner. Our team wishes you a great time with your family and friends and lots of good health and great times for 2020. Please travel safe on our busy roads during the festive season.We would also like to take this occasion and encourage you to read our newsletters. All important information, especially when it comes to changes to your short-term insurance policies, are communicated in our circular for your attention.As usual, we have also included information across the board regarding investments, short-term insurance, immigration and other related topics. This newsletter can also be viewed underhttps://www.swissfin.co.za/newsletters/swissfin-swisssure-newsletter-december-2019/Enjoy the reading, with best regards,Your SwissFin / SwissSure – Team

Dear Readers,We welcome you to the latest edition of our Newsletter.Our National Elections in May have come and gone, so has the recent State of the Nation Address by President Ramaphosa. South Africans are eagerly waiting for a change and more importantly an eradication of corruption in the Government. Whilst the Zondo Commission is on its facts finding mission, there has been some silver lining on the horizon: Retail sales have increased in June year-on-year following another upswing of 2.7% in May, the Rand has been resilient, the property market shows small signs of improvement and the Reserve Bank announced at the end of July to cut interest rates by 0.25%. It is encouraging to see that the Governor, Lesetja Kganyago, is keeping his eyes on inflation and not politics. So let’s hope that our government is finding actions to stimulate our economic growth.

Dear Readers,We welcome you to our first Newsletter for 2019.We have some exciting news to share with you: Our Forex offering has taken off and we are very pleased to see that many of our clients are making use of our services. Our rates are very favourable and you will find more information in one of the articles below.Another exciting development is the increased hole-in-one cover on our GolfEstateSure policy: With R 20'000 we offer by far the highest coverage for this special event! There have been more amendments, which are summarized under the short-term insurance chapter.Another focus in this edition is the maiden Budget Speech by our Finance Minister, Tito Mboweni, which was held on 20 February 2019.We have also included information for you across the board regarding insurance, immigration, taxation and other related topics.Enjoy the reading, with best regards,Your SwissFin / SwissSure – Team

Dear Readers,It is this time of the year again - Christmas and the summer holidays are just around the corner. Our team wishes you a great time with your family and friends and all the best for 2019. Please travel safe on our busy roads during the festive season.We are pleased to announce that our application for Foreign Exchange offerings has been approved by the South African Reserve Bank. We will also be in a position to offer our clients accounts in USD. You will find more information on this topic under "investments".We have also included information across the board regarding investments, short-term insurance, immigration and other related topics. This newsletter can as usual be viewed under https://www.swissfin.co.za/newsletters/swissfin-swisssure-newsletter-december-2018/Enjoy the reading, with best regards,Your SwissFin / SwissSure – Team