Hundreds attend IPEC Mount Darwin’s awareness campaign on insurance and pensions as $25 mln remain unclaimed
By Insurance24
HARARE, The Insurance and Pensions Commissions (Ipec) Saturday’s awareness campaign on insurance and pensions in Mount Darwin’s Madondo business area drew hundreds of people who leant on first hand information from the regulator as well as service providers.
Insurance and pensions are issues largely considered too technical and is many cases is affected by negative perceptions. Mount Darwin, which is in a tobacco farming region, has most farmers duped by bogus insurance companies, thus largely contribute to the wrong perception about insurance.
However, through the Ipec awareness campaign, several individuals ended up relating their stories and lodged their issues directly to the regulator. Information that was shared with the public included the rights of a pensioner, insurance rights and duties, insurance fraud among many others.
Ipec Public Relations Officer Lloyd Gumbo said the goal of these campaigns is to make those in the rural areas know that insurance policies and pensions are not for those in urban areas, but they can be covered too.
Nhau Chivingira, manager of pensions at IPEC urged people to ensure that they buy insurance from well established and registered companies. He said people should shy away from agents who are found at most entrances of Post Offices, selling their own covers.
As at December 2017, a total $25 mln was lodged as unclaimed benefits with a total 23, 510 pensioners not claiming their benefits.
Meanwhile, the next road shows will be held on June 30 in Gweru at Mkoba 6 open space.
In Zimbabwe, like many other African countries, insurance penetration rates are still low as people continue to have negative perceptions on insurance. Zimbabwe’s scenario is made worse by the loss of savings and insurance as a result of the dollarization of the economy in 2009.
Government has since moved to correct the anomaly through the Commission of Inquiry on the conversion process and has since made recommendations which also involve compensation, but the industry is yet to accept the position, thus the issue remain largely the same.
