On 30^th August 2023, the Organization of Eastern and Southern African Insurers (OESAI) at their Gala Dinner in Mauritius, presented a posthumous award to Mr. Rasik Patel “For his outstanding contribution to the insurance industry in Africa”.  The award was accepted on his behalf by his son, Udai Patel, who is currently the Executive Chairman of Afro-Asian Insurance Services Limited (Lloyd’s Brokers). Rasik Patel was the founder of Afro-Asian Insurance Services Limited and Chairman when he passed away 15 years ago. The award was the ultimate accolade for his achievements in insurance and reinsurance in Africa over a 48 year career in the industry. We are grateful to OESAI for this recognition at an event where some of his friends and associates from the African Insurance industry were present.

Rasiklal Harmanbhai Patel (popularly known as Rasik Patel) was a resident in England for over 32 years until his passing on 3^rd June 2008. He spent half his life in Tanzania, Kenya and Zambia before being transferred on promotion to his London Head Office in 1975. Rasik’s childhood was spent with his 7 siblings in the village of Mombo at the foot of the Usambara mountains in Tanzania, and spent much of his childhood between the towns of Mombo and Tanga.

Rasik was awarded a bursary from the British Government to take up full-time study at the Asian Central Teachers College in Nairobi, Kenya, which then culminated in a teaching career at the Upanga Primary School in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. He served as the Chairman of the Marking Board for the General Entrance Examination, and ultimately as the Head Teacher at the Upanga Primary School which had a roll of over 12,000 children and a staff of 29 teachers.

However, his attention was being drawn to a career in insurance. During 1960 Rasik attended evening lectures on insurance and was appointed part-time agent of the Life Insurance Corporation of India and the Crusader Insurance Co. Ltd., and in 1965 he joined the Dar es Salaam Branch of the Crusader Insurance Co. at a much lower salary than he was receiving from teaching and submitted his resignation from the permanent and pensionable position as an Education Officer with the Government of Tanzania.

It was in 1965 that the Director of Radio Tanzania, Dar es Salaam, approached Rasik and requested that he should join as a part-time newsreader and commentator on their English programme. Between 1965 and 1971, Rasik was popularly known as “Rasik Patel of Radio Tanzania”, although he was employed in full-time management positions in insurance during that period. He had the good fortune of covering a number of outside broadcasts during the State Visits to Tanzania of leaders of non-aligned countries, such as President Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yu of Singapore, President Tito of Yugoslavia and various other dignitaries including Mrs. Indira Gandhi when she had visited Dar es Salaam as the daughter of Pandit Jawarlal Nehru. Rasik was also involved in broadcasting fiery Commentaries after the News, which were critical of the apartheid regimes of South Africa and Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), which did not earn him any friends in these countries at the time.

In 1967, when the business of insurance, among many other sectors of the economy, was nationalised and the National Insurance Corporation of Tanzania became the sole insurer to the nation, Rasik was one of the few insurance industry leaders who helped the authorities to bring stability and order in the nationalised insurance market. He was a founder member of the Insurance Institute of Tanzania, was elected Chairman of the Institute in 1968 and he continued to serve as Chairman of that body for three years, whilst remaining in full-time employment as Manager of H. Clarkson and Southern (Tanzania) Ltd.

In 1970, Rasik was appointed Managing Director of H. Clarkson and Southern (Tanzania) Ltd., a subsidiary of H. Clarkson (Lloyd’s Brokers).

In 1971 he was transferred to the international staff of H. Clarkson (Insurance Holdings) Ltd. and took up residence in the UK and stayed there for a brief period of intensive exposure to London market insurance practice. He then returned to Africa and carried out special duties for H. Clarkson Insurance Group based in Tanzania.

In 1974 Rasik was appointed to serve as Managing Director of H. Clarkson (Zambia), a wholly owned subsidiary of H. Clarkson (Insurance Holdings) Ltd., U.K. It was the second largest insurance broking firm in the Zambian market with six expatriate officials and some 20 local staff handling some of the most complex risks and prestigious accounts in the country.

Rasik continued to remain Managing Director of H. Clarkson (Tanzania) Ltd. and served both companies spending his time in the proportion of two-thirds and one-third between Zambia and Tanzania until the end of 1975 when foreign insurance brokers ceased to operate in Zambia due to national restrictive legislation. This development brought Rasik and his family back to the United Kingdom for him to head the Africa and South Asia Division of the H. Clarkson Group at their London Head Office.

During the ensuing ten years Rasik spent considerable time travelling to Africa and Asia developing long term relationships with clients and insurance companies in those regions, and also helping with the formation of new insurance and reinsurance companies, in some parts of Africa.

From 1988 to 1995 Rasik served as Director for Africa, Middle East and South Asia in Hogg Insurance Brokers Ltd., a firm of Lloyd’s and international insurance and reinsurance brokers based in the City of London. During that period he expanded and co-ordinated the Group’s business activities in that geographical area until the company was taken over in a merger and acquisition exercise and came to be known as Bain Hogg Ltd. At this point in his life he came to the conclusion that he could be of better service to his friends and clients in Africa and Asia by retaining control and independence of operations in his business. He therefore negotiated an early retirement from Bain Hogg Ltd. in December 1995 and joined Afro-Asian Insurance Services Ltd., an international insurance and reinsurance broking firm owned by him and his son, Udai. As the Executive Chairman he continued to be involved in that company’s business interests in Africa and South Asia, working closely with Udai, who was then the Managing Director and CEO of the company.

During his career in insurance, Rasik regularly contributed articles to professional journals and presented papers and commentaries at African and Asian regional insurance conferences, seminars and meetings since 1977.    In May 1977, on the occasion of the 25^th Anniversary of the African Insurance Organisation (AIO), Rasik Patel was one of the ten recipients of an Award from that Organisation “in appreciation of the exceptional contribution made towards the development of Insurance in Africa”. He was a Sustaining Member of the International Insurance Society, a non-profit educational organisation based in New York with over 800 members from 90 countries, including senior executives and educators in insurance.

Rasik was honoured with the NRI Excellence Award and the Pride of India Gold Medal on 12 January 2004 in New Delhi and he was the past International Chairman of the NRI Institute, New Delhi.

On 19^th March 2007, at its Annual Awards ceremony held in London, the UK-based India International Foundation honoured Rasik Patel with the Award of Distinction in the category of Business.

Rasik Patel was a larger than life character, who enjoyed life to the fullest in the company of his wife, son, daughter-in-law and two grand daughters.