F&I Star Reacher Awards 2025 recognise South Africa’s top finance and insurance professionals

South Africa’s top-performing Finance & Insurance (F&I) professionals in the automotive retail sector were celebrated at the prestigious 2025 Lightstone Auto Star Reacher F&I Awards held this past weekend. Now in its fourth year, the Awards recognise F&I managers who embody excellence, integrity and innovation in driving dealership profitability and customer satisfaction.

Hosted by Lightstone Auto, owner of the Signio platform, the Star Reacher Awards honour F&I professionals for outstanding annual performance across five key focus areas: customer engagement, compliance, digital adoption, and value creation. Signio is an innovative electronic workflow and signature solution that securely automates the vehicle finance and insurance process.

Widely adopted across South Africa, it serves motor vehicle dealerships (SMEs and dealer groups), banks, insurance companies, Value-Added Product (VAP) applications, and other automotive industry participants.

Every quarter, winners in each category are awarded for their achievements and this culminates in an annual award ceremony where performance over a 12-month period is recognised. Each category winner was awarded a luxury trip for themselves and their partner to the tropical island of Mauritius, valued at R40,000 each. Runners-up each received shopping vouchers worth R10,000.

This Awards programme is a completely data-driven recognition platform for F&I professionals in the industry. The Star Reacher Awards are based on measurable performance indicators such as the number of value added products and services’ (VAPs) leads referred, completed finance applications, and KYC checks. F&I managers are also evaluated within categories that match their dealership’s sales volume, ensuring a level playing field where even those at smaller dealerships have a fair chance to excel.

The competition delivered impressive results, far surpassing expectations in both performance and impact. Beyond its success, it has also driven significant progress, benefiting both the talented participants and the dealerships that support them. The data highlights this achievement, with a 27% increase in VAP ratios, a 16.2% rise in insurance leads, and a remarkable 56% surge in KYC usage.

2025 Winners

Winners per category:

Runners-up per category:

Special recognition was given to repeat winners who have excelled year after year:

The Star Reacher Awards continue to set the standard for recognising ethical leadership, digital integration, and customer-focused service in F&I. The event was a morning of celebration, reflection and inspiration for the future of the industry.

Paul Marshall, Managing Director at Lightstone Auto, applauded the winners for their dedication and professionalism saying, “F&I professionals are the unsung heroes of dealership profitability and customer trust. Lightstone Auto takes great pride in supporting and celebrating those who go above and beyond to serve both customers and their dealerships. This year’s winners embody the future of a sustainable and thriving auto industry. They have demonstrated resilience, adaptability, and confidence in the face of change – emerging even stronger as a result. We are committed to helping motor dealers succeed by providing data-driven insights, innovative solutions, and ongoing support to navigate an ever-evolving automotive landscape.”

Since launching Star Reacher, Lightstone has intentionally kept the event small, intimate, and personal—fostering authentic connections and a focused experience. Lightstone believes it has successfully delivered on that vision but also recognises the need to innovate and adapt in a rapidly evolving industry. The goal is to grow the event into a nationally recognised industry event over the next year, while preserving the unique spirit that has defined it from the beginning.

Image credit: Lightstone Auto Facebook page