Insurance24 Reporter
VICTORIA FALLS – Insurance industry players across Southern Africa must move beyond traditional business models and embrace innovation, technology and inclusive solutions to close protection gaps and strengthen the sector’s resilience, Insurance Institute of Zimbabwe (IIZ) president Dr Clementine Chinyuku has said.
Officially opening the second edition of the Southern Africa Insurance Indaba in Victoria Falls, Chinyuku challenged industry leaders, regulators and policymakers to rethink how the sector responds to emerging risks, warning that climate change, technological disruption and persistent affordability barriers were reshaping the insurance landscape.
She said the industry needed to move beyond incremental changes and develop practical solutions that protected livelihoods, restored confidence and extended insurance coverage to underserved communities.
“Are we preparing for the worst Africa will face tomorrow? Or are we becoming more efficient in solving these problems?” Chinyuku asked, setting the tone for discussions at the regional gathering running from November 11 to 14.
Held under the theme Future-proofing African Insurance: Building Resilient, Inclusive and Technology-driven Markets, the indaba brings together insurance executives, regulators, academics and practitioners to explore the future of the industry.
Chinyuku said the gathering came at a critical time as climate change continued to redefine risk, technology transformed business models and customer expectations evolved, while affordability and accessibility remained major obstacles to insurance penetration.
She called for innovation that went beyond sophisticated systems, arguing that technology must deliver tangible benefits to policyholders and communities.
“Technology alone will not future-proof insurance,” she said, adding that artificial intelligence, automation and data analytics were already reshaping underwriting, claims management, distribution and customer engagement.
She said the real measure of innovation should be its ability to solve practical problems, improve customer outcomes, strengthen decision-making and extend protection to communities traditionally excluded from formal insurance.
Chinyuku also challenged the industry to reposition insurance as a critical contributor to Africa’s economic development rather than viewing it merely as a regulatory requirement or an expense incurred after a disaster.
“Insurance is an economy enabler,” she said, highlighting its role in supporting investment, entrepreneurship, agricultural productivity and the protection of livelihoods.
She warned that businesses remained vulnerable to collapse in the absence of adequate protection, while farmers exposed to unpredictable weather patterns and households without insurance cover continued to face significant financial risks.
The IIZ president said trust remained the foundation of the insurance business, cautioning that the sector’s ability to grow depended on maintaining public confidence through meaningful and responsive solutions.
“Without trust, there is no insurance industry,” she said.
Chinyuku said the indaba had evolved from the IIZ Annual Conference into a broader Southern African platform for professional exchange, policy dialogue, collaboration and the advancement of insurance practice.
She said the regional approach was necessary because challenges such as low insurance penetration, climate-related risks, infrastructure vulnerabilities, protection gaps and fragmented markets transcended national borders.
She expressed hope that discussions at the conference would extend beyond the meeting rooms and influence boardroom decisions, policy formulation and the wider development of insurance markets across the continent.
The gathering also provides an opportunity to examine ways of closing protection gaps, developing products suited to emerging risks, supporting small and medium-sized enterprises and building commercially sustainable and socially relevant insurance markets.
Chinyuku urged delegates to actively contribute to the discussions, challenge conventional thinking and share experiences that could translate into practical industry reforms.
She welcomed delegates from across the region and beyond, including Botswana, South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia, Kenya, Tanzania and other markets, saying their participation demonstrated that the future of African insurance was a shared responsibility.
The four-day gathering is expected to provide a platform for industry leaders to confront the challenges facing African insurance markets and identify strategies for building more resilient, accessible and technology-driven sectors.
