Company performance This year’s results, once again, demonstrate the effectiveness of mutuality in providing both financial security and unrivalled long-term benefits for our members. We continue to be grateful to our members for their loyalty, which is demonstrated by low membership attrition rates, low policy cancellations and Profit-Share withdrawals. We also believe in consistently innovating according to the evolving needs of graduate professionals, and many innovations developed and launched over the past three years are proving their value. Our PROFiT member engagement platform, for instance, is constantly being enriched. This enables members to have direct control of their PPS portfolios, engage with the larger professional community and explore ways in which to optimise their Profit-Share allocations. Our PPS Profit-Share Cross-Holdings Booster continues to add value for members who hold qualifying products across the PPS Group’s product portfolio. And the PPS Investments Family Network, launched in 2021, encourages the aggregation of individual and family assets, enabling members to enjoy lower fees because of a larger, combined asset base. Similarly, the PPS Health Professions Indemnity, designed in response to the increasingly high costs of indemnity insurance and the ever more litigious environment, has been very well received and is providing peace of mind for members in clinical practice. Further innovations at both PPS Group and subsidiary level are detailed in the Innovations section of this report. Regulatory changes and compliance There were, relative to other years, fewer regulatory changes in 2021, and a summary of these is given in the governance section of this report. The National Health Insurance Bill which, if passed, is likely to have a big impact on PPS and its members, is still under review in parliament and, at the time of writing, public hearings were still in progress. With both the public and private healthcare systems having been under significant pressure since the Bill was introduced in 2019, it is difficult to predict the developments that we are likely to see in 2022. We will, however, continue to track developments closely and remain committed to representing and protecting the voice of professionals in all legislative and regulatory processes. Corporate social responsibility PPS Foundation The PPS Foundation uses the shared value of our community of professionals to contribute to finding solutions to the key challenges we face as a developing economy, particularly as these relate to our large youth population. In 2021, the Foundation continued to run its core Bursary and University Support Programmes without interruption, despite the challenges of the pandemic, and all budgeted funds were allocated and distributed. In 2021 PPS funded 78 bursaries. The LEAP Work Readiness Programme, which prepares bursary recipients and other graduates for the world of work, also continued to prepare them for assimilation into the working environment. The PPS Graduate Internship Programme, which is run by the Foundation, continues to be oversubscribed every year. In 2021, as in previous years, the majority of participants who completed the one-year programme were offered full-time employment within the Group. The programme ensures that a vibrant stream of talent continues to flow into the PPS Group and its subsidiaries. PPS Training Academy The PPS Training Academy continues to be a learning institution for staff, advisers and members that we are immensely proud of, and which is internationally recognised for excellence. The digital literacy programme introduced in 2020 has also been exceptionally popular and, in 2021, the number of courses available increased from 17 to 32. The programme, which is also offered to advisers, is specifically designed to assist staff members to develop the skills they need to interact effectively in a digitalised working environment. Ethics and corporate governance We are consistently compliant with all relevant legislation and regulations, and our corporate governance practices align with principles of the King IV™ Code of Corporate Governance. In terms of both King IV™ and the Companies Act of 2008, PPS is governed through a unitary structure that includes a main board, subsidiary boards and their subcommittees. All boards and their committees operate within the parameters of approved charters and terms of reference, which are reviewed periodically. All boards and committees are also supported by a well-resourced company secretariat. 41 | Chairman’s statement PPS Integrated Report 2021
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