Unclaimed insurance benefits reach $30 mln; Ipec plans to publish names of policy holders yet to claim their benefits
Own Correspondent
MUTARE, The value of unclaimed pension benefits has risen to $30 mln with about 48 000 pensionable claims on the books of insurance companies lying unclaimed.
The Insurance and Pensions Commission (IPEC) together with industry players are carrying out awareness campaigns to educate people on the importance of insurance, pensions as well as the unclaimed benefits.
Residents of Mutare who attended an awareness campaign in Mutare expressed appreciation of the educative road show, indicating they were really not aware of their rights on insurance and pensions.
IPEC Public Relations Officer Lloyd Gumbo said the continued rise in unclaimed benefits has pushed the insurance regulatory board to take corrective measures and is now planning to publicize the names of policy holders whose benefits have not been claimed with the hope of reaching out to the beneficiaries.
“It is disheartening that would-be beneficiaries could be living in poverty while their monies lay idle,” he said, adding that the majority of the people who have not claimed their money were those that used to work in the clothing and mining industries and these include standalone funds, self-administered funds and insured funds.
The Insurance regulator is also in the process of reforming the pensions industry. The regulator and stakeholders engaged last week in that regard, to gather the views of the industry on the proposed changes.
