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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the extent to which strategic intelligence is utilised within the South African long‐term insurance industry and whether it could be used to identify opportunities or threats within the global environment to remain competitive, create greater innovation, and corporate advantage.Design/methodology/approachThe approach of this paper is to obtain the qualitative views and opinions of strategic decision makers, on an executive managerial level within the South African long‐term insurance industry, on their organizations' use of strategic intelligence.FindingsThere are marked differences in the conformity and usage of strategic intelligence and its components between the organizations surveyed, with a measurable difference between large and small organizations, however, it is generally viewed that the use of a strategic intelligence framework could greatly enhance decision making.Research limitations/implicationsData collection was limited to the 82 long‐term insurance companies which were registered with the South African Financial Services Board, with a focus on the organizations listed on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange within the Life Assurance Sector, within which a final response rate of 36.1 per cent was achieved, including the 100 per cent response rate from the six listed organizations.Practical implicationsThe paper identifies the extent to which strategic intelligence is utilised in the South African long‐term insurance industry, and identifies the benefits or problems that are experienced by implementing and using strategic intelligence as an input to the strategic management process and what value strategic intelligence adds in the decision‐making process.Originality/valueThe identification and utilisation of the most important factors of a strategic intelligence framework will greatly enhance global corporate decision making and result in competitive advantage and constant innovation within the South African business environment.