Safrican was established in 1932. Its core business was funeral aid, operating mainly in what was known as the Witwatersrand area, selling funeral aid at very affordable rates.

In 1971, Safrican was incorporated into the HCI Group becoming a subsidiary of Safrican Life Investment Holdings Limited. This development spurred rapid expansion into the group funeral market based on the heightened awareness amongst employers of the need to improve benefits for their employees.

Safrican expanded and established offices in three major cities, namely: Durban, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town. Safrican was then purchased by the Fedsure Group in 1994.

Although continuing as a company it became a separate operating division of the group, concentrating on providing funeral benefits. With the years of experience and expertise gained, Safrican made an even greater impact in this niche of the market. In 1995, Thebe Investment Corporation became Safrican's major shareholder. This co-ownership resulted in the emergence of Safrican Insurance Company Limited. Over time, Safrican gained more and more market share in the Funeral Assurance Market.

At the beginning of 2006, Channel Life acquired 55% shareholding in Safrican. Both Channel Life and Safrican are focused on the entry level market, and as such are passionate about South Africa. With an effective date of 1 December 2006, Channel Life acquired the remaining Safrican shareholding from Thebe Investment Corporation and Safrican is now a 100% subsidiary of Channel Life. Channel Life and Safrican are excited about the future and looking forward to grow from strength to strength, together.