Short term insurance industry carried own cross…Low appetite for insurers on ZSE…Nssa pokes private pension schemes
By Insurance24
HARARE, Trading on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) reversed Monday’s losses to close in the positive on Tuesday but in a rather quiet session. Insures were quite with activity limited only to Old Mutual which traded flat at 542c. Other sector players ZHL, Fidelity, FMHL and Nicozdiamond did not trade.
The Insurance players, particularly the life assurance industry is currently pondering on findings and recommendations by the Commission of Inquiry on the ZW$ conversion exercise that proposed compensation by the private players.
According to an Insurance expert, the ZW$ conversion exercise affected the life assurance industry and not the short term insurance industry.
“The short term industry claims were paid as and when they occurred at that time absorbing the inflationary pressures prevailing at that time as take for instance repairs to a car, insurers would meet all the inflation induced costs in repairing the customer’s car so the short term insurance industry carried its own cross at that time and may not be affected by this exercise.”
Meanwhile, the All Share Index added 0.07 points on the back of a 0.24 points gain in the Industrial Index. The Top Ten Index edged up 0.04 points buoyed by gains in Delta. Turnover closed at $1.2mln with good trades in Delta, Econet and OM while the rest of the trades were very thin.
Four counters gained ground as Axia went up by $0.00480 to close at $0.1848, Delta(DLTA.zw) and FBC Holdings each put on $0.0025 to trade at $1.5625 and $0.2025 respectively. Hippo inched up by $0.0007 to close at $1.6800.
Losses were recorded in Simbisa and TSL Limited as both shed $0.0010 to close at $0.3890 and $0.3980 respectively.
‘Nssa pokes private pension schemes…
HARARE – The National Social Security Authority has said its monthly minimum pension pay-out of $80 compares favorably against what private pension schemes with much higher contribution rates are paying.
General Manager Liz Chitiga, in a statement explaining some of the group’s investments said since the introduction of the multi-currency system in 2009, NSSA has consistently paid pensioners without fail.
“The Authority increased the minimum retirement pension payable from $60 to $80 with effect from 1 October 2017. The increase is in line with the Authority’s continuous quest to pay pensioners a liveable pension,” said Chitiga.
The statement by NSSA was aimed at redressing information that an Audit has been instituted by the Ministry of Public Service Labour and Social Welfare to investigate operations of NSSA.
However, Chitiga said NSSA has a solid investments guidelines and policies that ensure the sustainability of the Authority for the benefit of contributors while supporting economic development.
“NSSA has an investments and procurement committee that monitors the performance of the Authority’s investment strategy and portfolio and recommends to the board appropriate structural changes on a timely basis,” she said.
“The committee monitors liquidity of the organization to ensure that appropriate investments are made so that funds are available to pay pensions”, she added.
According to Chitiga, the Authority’s current salary structure, which has been said to be way above limit by some reports, was reviewed in 2015 when the current board assumed office, with the review said to have reduced salaries for executives by about 50 percent.
“The NSSA board felt the prevailing structure then was exorbitant and put in place a framework that was approved by Minister of Public Service Labour and Social Welfare. The recommended framework was that 60 percent of salaries should be basic with allowances not exceeding 40 percent, unlike the previous circumstances where a person would get 10 percent basic and up to 90 percent in allowances” she said.
