Stokes Media
Publisher of “Everything you need to know about non-life insurance in South Africa
Stokes Media is a publisher and researcher focused on the financial services sector. We publish a biennial title that gives a comprehensive overview of the South African non-life (short-term) insurance industry.
The first edition of our popular franchise was titled Short Term Insurance in South Africa 2016, released at The Insurance Conference held at Sun City from 24-27 July 2016.
Our second publication, titled Everything you need to know about non-life insurance in South Africa, was launched at the 2018 African Insurance Exchange, again held in Sun City, from 29-31 July 2018.
And we are excited to announce that the long-awaited third edition was unveiled from 25-27 July 2022, once again at the African Insurance Exchange at Sun City.
What the industry says about this comprehensive guide to South Africa’s non-life insurance market…
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I am working on something interesting in the financial services environment which gave me cause to read Everything you need to know about non-life insurance in South Africa. It’s really an excellent work and one which should be read by all new entrants – and many old hats – in the insurance industry. Really, really well done!
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This book is a valuable addition to the insurance market, not only for those who spend most of their lives working in the industry, but also for those who want to get a better understanding of how the market operates; who the key players are and how the industry is regulated.
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Congratulations on your book, Short Term Insurance in South Africa, which I have just finished reading. I was expecting it to be OK, but was blown away by how good it is – well done and huge thanks – informative, well-written, interesting and covers a broad range of topics – most useful.
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Whether you are a seasoned insurance professional or a young intern, you will find tremendous value in its pages – the subject matter is dealt with in language that is easy to understand, and is written in a way that keeps the topic interesting.
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If you aim to be a ‘professional’ insurance practitioner I would advocate getting your hands on a copy of this book – it will give you a better understanding of the opportunities that exist in our profession.
About the author
Gareth Stokes is a specialist finance writer who has written on countless topics in the insurance and investment industries. He started his writing career as the managing editor for Fleet Street Publications (FSP), where he produced monthly investment newsletters including the prestigious Zurich Club, later SA Investor, and the share tipping sheet, Red Hot Penny Shares. In 2006, Gareth self-published a book, Fear, Greed and the Stock Market, which provides an essential guide to investing in ordinary equities through the South African stock exchange.
In 2007, Gareth embarked on a freelance writing career. He continued to write extensively for FSP, including as the founding editor of its weekly finance digest, Money Week SA, distributed through South African newsagents nationwide; and the firm’s weekly newsletter, Investor’s Digest, presenting new ideas in value investing to its subscribers.
Alongside his contributions to FSP, Gareth produced content for Insurance Publications, the owner and publisher of trade insurance publications FAnews Magazine and fanews.co.za. Both titles cover diverse financial services topics under the insurance and investment disciplines. For many years, Gareth contributed to two fortnightly blogs marketed as Stokes’ Stage and Straight Talk, sharing general economic and socio-political views with readers online, often specific to the financial services sector. It was during this time that Gareth was shortlisted as a finalist, in multiple years and for various categories, in both the Sanlam and Citadel financial journalism awards.
In 2013, Gareth accepted a full-time post as the Communications Manager for the Financial Intermediaries Association of Southern Africa (FIA), where, in addition to his management role, he acted as editor, publisher and occasional writer for the intermediary magazine, FIA Insight.
The years spent at the FIA presented opportunities to build close relationships with key stakeholders in the non-life insurance industry, including executive-level corporate decision makers, industry associations and regulators. Gareth used the strength of these connections to produce the first edition of Everything you need to know about non-life insurance in South Africa, published in July 2016 with help from fellow journalist and writer, Liz Still. The pair teamed up for a second edition of this book, published in July 2018.
Gareth has also contributed to regular columns in the UK-based risk management publication, Commercial Risk Africa, for which he won the 2017 Continental Re Pan-African Re/insurance Journalist of the Year Award. He achieved further honours in this competition in 2018, receiving a Special Recognition Award before taking up a volunteer role on the competition’s judging panel from 2019 to date.
In October 2017, Gareth launched Stokes Media, his own professional content and communications firm, whilst still continuing to write quality content on insurance and investment topics for Africa Ahead Publishing, Insurance Publications, Personal Finance Magazine and selected others. His latest publishing accomplishment is this work, the third edition of Everything you need to know about non-life insurance in South Africa.
