Who We Are

Founded on 1 June 1894, The Rand Mutual Assurance Company Limited (RMA) is a non-profit mutual assurance organisation which is owned by its policy holders. RMA operates in terms of section 30 of the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act, 130 of 1993 as amended, under license from the Minister of Labour. The RMA Group also operates under both short and long-term insurance licences issued by the Financial Services Board (FSB).

As an organisation that is compassionate and caring, RMA goes the extra mile to ensure that beneficiaries and their families receive the care and compensation they are entitled to when they have sustained either a work-related injury or occupational disease.

The core of RMA’s administration business is the receipt, adjudication and administration of workers’ compensation claims, including the payment of medical costs, once-off disability payments and the ongoing payment of pensions in the case of severe disability and death. RMA’s high level of service and quick claims turnaround is underpinned by a market-leading integrated claims management IT system that allows for paperless adjudication of claims.

Three additional operating entities form part of the RMA Group and are also indirect subsidiaries of RMA, namely: Rand Mutual Admin Services, Rand Mutual Technology Solutions and Rand Mutual Property Holding.

Rand Mutual Admin, a licensed Financial Service Provider with license no. 46113, provides a range of services that support the underwriting and administration of both the COID and insurance benefits.

RMA has a wide footprint and is easily accessible to its clients, claimants and other stakeholders through its head office in Johannesburg and regional walk-in branches located in Carletonville, Cape Town, Durban, eMalahleni, Johannesburg, Klerksdorp, Pretoria, Rustenburg and Welkom. In addition, RMA has satellite offices in Lesotho, Mthatha and Mozambique.
RMA is a Level 1 contributor to B-BBEE.

Vision

To be the leading insurance provider and administrator of employment injury- and health-related benefits and niche insurance solutions through a world-class integrated IT system.

Mission

To provide quality, cost-effective and compassionate insurance services at the highest standard.

To deliver service excellence to all stakeholders taking into account global best practice.

To observe the highest standards of integrity and good governance practices at all times.

To optimally manage capital, reserves, provisions and other assets.

To develop, nurture and empower our staff to enable them to perform at their optimum output levels.

Values

At RMA we are about people. We cannot be successful without creating and maintaining trust among our stakeholders. We build that trust through:

Caring for the wellbeing of our people;

Treating others with dignity and respect;

Being honest in all that we do;

Delivering the right service, first time;

Empowering our people to use their initiative;

Taking responsibility for our actions and helping others to be responsible for theirs;

Sharing knowledge; and

Working as a team.

Our Heritage

Identifying a need to help care for miners who were injured while on duty, RMA was founded in 1894 by three mining companies on the Witwatersrand as a non-profit mutual assurance company.

To this day it remains a mutual association which means that the policy holders are also the shareholders.

RMA Life Assurance Company Limited (RMA Life) was established in 1990 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of RMA to manage the pension benefits payable to claimants and their beneficiaries.

As legislation governing workers’ compensation evolved, RMA was granted the right to continue providing compensation to the mining industry under licence from the Minister of Labour. This licence was granted in terms of the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (COIDA) for Class IV (Mining), and was extended to include Class XIII (Iron, Steel and Metal) from 1 March 2015. The RMA Group also operates under both long- and short-term insurance licences issued by the Financial Services Board (FSB).

Governance

RMA prides itself on living the principles of sound corporate governance and has implemented numerous structures to ensure that the necessary checks and balances are in place. The Board is the custodian of the Group’s governance framework which is formalised in its charters, policies and operating procedures.

These governance processes are regularly reviewed to take into account both the changing regulatory environment and best practice. The Board’s focus on the application of sound corporate governance principles has been unwavering. The governance processes and structures are regularly reviewed.

RMA acknowledges the significance of the role it plays in the lives of its many stakeholders and the importance of remaining sustainable and embracing the principles of governance best practice.

There are many sources that inform the governance structures of RMA, most notably being the Companies Act (and specifically the provisions that apply to public companies), the King III report, the Long- and Short-Term Insurance Acts, and more recently Board Notice 158 of 2014 which stipulates the governance and risk management structures for insurers published by the FSB in early 2014.

The governance structure is illustrated below:

Board of Directors

As at 31 December 2015, RMA’s Board of Directors was constituted as follows: