MiWay CEO honoured for contribution to insurance industry

René Otto, CEO of MiWay

The COVER Excellence Awards recognise individuals for extraordinary effort and dedication to an industry aimed at improving the financial security of consumers.

Otto, who started his career as a state advocate, entered the private sector in 1988 where he spent eight years with Auto and General - the only direct short-term insurance company at the time. Shortly thereafter, he was requested by RMB Holdings to create the blueprint for OUTsurance. He held the position of CEO of OUTsurance and was at the forefront of innovation and the world-first OUTbonus concept.

He exited once the company had reached critical mass and enjoyed 18 months of profitability. Otto was also the CEO of Channel Life from September 2004 until June 2007, a medium-sized life insurance company, where he extended his track record of building sustainable businesses in the short-term industry to the life insurance industry.

Rewards programme

On request of Sanlam, Santam and PSG, Otto launched MiWay in February 2008. This was the first short-term insurance company to offer the purchase and administration of short-term insurance on-line, and also the first to offer a rewards programme where a claim does not invalidate the rewards pay-out. In just six years, he steered MiWay into a profitable medium-sized company, boasting a critical mass of over 220,000 clients.

"Receiving this award is a great honour, but credit should really go to the dedicated teams and wonderful people I have worked with over the years. I had great mentors and I have also been fortunate to have had incredible support from shareholders - without which an award of this nature would not have happened," said Otto.