CTU Insurance on the Commuter Transport Market: Taxi & Bus Pressures, Insurance Gaps, and Risk Management

Tony from Cover interviews Oscar Shabalala of CTU Insurance, an underwriting manager and Hollard’s centre of excellence for commuter transport insurance, with shareholders including Hollard, Lyrius, and Sinawo Global. Oscar explains that the taxi sector is under pressure due to tighter bank lending, reduced vehicle sales, falling passenger numbers, overtraded routes, fuel and parts cost increases, and more repossessions, leading some operators to drop insurance and self-insure. The bus sector faces similar passenger declines, rising bus prices, fuel costs comprising about 40% of operating expenses, and challenges financing fleets due to short or delayed subsidised contracts. He notes taxi insurance penetration is about 80,000 insured out of roughly 300,000 taxis, driven by affordability and understanding, while the formal bus sector is about 95–100% insured. CTU supports affordability through education, wallet-friendly covers, data-driven risk insights, and broker collaboration