Staff Writer
The Insurance and Pensions Commission (IPEC) has called on Zimbabwe’s insurance industry to radically broaden its market focus and product offerings as part of a renewed strategy aimed at lifting the country’s low insurance penetration rate and modernizing regulatory oversight.
Speaking at the Southern Africa Insurance indaba, IPEC director of insurance and microinsurance Sibongile Siwela said the sector continues to miss opportunities in underserved demographics despite “massive potential for growth of the penetration rates.
“There are opportunities to take them to the informal market. Zimbabwe’s insurance penetration rate currently stands at 1.06%, well below the regional average of 3% and this calls for insurers to accelerate efforts to expand coverage,” she said.
She stressed that with the informal economy estimated at 76%, insurers must prioritise outreach to informal workers and small-scale enterprises if the market is to grow beyond its current limits.
“The informal market is at 76% so we need to focus more on the informal market. As the Commission we also, working with the World Bank, we also did some training with the industry on insurance for SMEs and going into 2026 we encouraged the industry to focus on the insurance for SMEs,” she said.
Siwela also urged players to design inclusive affordable products aimed at groups traditionally excluded from formal insurance.
“The underserved segments of the population also need our attention. We can develop products that are relevant to them and that are affordable to them.”
Unveiling IPEC’s 2026–2030 strategic direction, Siwela said the Commission is shifting its regulatory posture in response to industry feedback that has characterised the regulator as punitive and overly compliance-driven.
“Our IPEC strategy for 2026–2030 guiding theme is beyond compliance and regulation for sustainability. We have been receiving feedback, one of them is that we are acting as compliance police, we are just policing the industry and catching violations after they happen. I think we need to be more proactive than reactive as we go into the future.”
She said IPEC intends to move away from rigid, checklist-type supervision. “We will be moving from risk-based where we concern ourselves with the ticking boxes, following rigid processes, and we will then be moving to a risk-based approach. Us versus them, adversarial relationship with the industry, then I think we want to collaborate more as we move forward,” said Siwela.
She said the Commission will intensify efforts in consumer protection, regulatory modernization, market development, and climate-related risk management.
However, she warned that structural issues within the industry also require attention, particularly limited product variety.
“On strategic issues, there are also pain points that we observed, a lack of product diversification, and we observed that the life sector is mainly focusing on the funeral product. I think there is room to do more in that area.”
Siwela’s remarks come as Zimbabwe’s insurance sector faces continued pressures to restore public trust, adapt to economic realities, and broaden participation in a market long dominated by traditional products.
The new strategy, she said, aims to encourage sustainable industry growth while making insurance more meaningful and accessible for the wider population.
