After more than two decades of commissioning and conducting South Africa’s most recognised intermediary survey, the FIA Board has taken the decision to pause the FIA Intermediary Experience Awards for 2025 to undertake a strategic review. We are simply creating some space to enhance the value and impact of its purpose and future role.
The FIA Intermediary Experience Awards (the Awards) have long served as the benchmark for financial services executives who wanted to compare their brand’s performance against that of their peers, as rated by the country’s financial intermediaries. It became a landmark intermediary event attended by stakeholders from across the insurance and investment sectors
“The decision to undertake a strategic review of the Awards was not taken lightly,” says Lizelle van der Merwe, Chief Executive Officer of the FIA. “The Awards have played a vital role in recognising excellence across the financial services value chain and are a treasured part of the association’s legacy.”
The FIA will use the review period to reflect on the changing needs of its members, reassess the role of the survey in a shifting financial product and services landscape, and explore how best to deliver value to its intermediary members and the product providers they conduct business with.
Van der Merwe says that the extent and pace of change in the financial services sector caused the FIA to take a step back and ask deeper questions about the survey’s impact, purpose, and evaluation framework.
“This does not signal the end of the Awards; we are simply creating some space to listen to our members and partners to evaluate how the survey aligns with their current priorities and consider future-fit ways to measure and promote value between intermediaries and product providers,” she says.
The Awards were informed by thousands of responses from FIA members who rated their experience of doing business with product providers across nine categories including employee benefits, healthcare, investment, short-term insurance, and underwriting management. The results shaped how financial product providers engaged with their intermediary channels and served as a practical benchmark for measuring intermediary service and support.
As the industry evolves, so too must the ways excellence is recognised and rewarded. The 2025 strategic review will therefore go beyond the Awards process to redefine what meaningful recognition looks like in a fast-changing sector.
“Our goal is to elevate the Awards to better reflect the evolving landscape of financial services and ensure meaningful recognition for all participants, including service providers,” says Van der Merwe.
“By reviewing the Awards, we have the opportunity to refine the evaluation process, increase industry engagement, and align recognition with innovation, transformation, and adviser-led strategies.”
In reimagining the Awards, the FIA will consider new approaches to how intermediary value is assessed and recognised. This may include incorporating more dynamic measures of provider performance, placing greater emphasis on innovation and transformation, and developing reporting that supports continuous improvement across the sector.
The FIA remains committed to recognising excellence in financial services and to upholding the voice of the intermediary. Further details on the revised survey structure and future timelines will be communicated in due course.
Issued by The Financial Intermediaries Association of Southern Africa (FIA)
For any queries please contact:
Llani Miller
FIA Head of Marketing
012 665 0085 / llani@fia.org.za
