AS the battle to gain a larger portion of subscribers in the insurance sector intensifies, Zimnat Life has partnered a local mobile operator and launched a new product.
BUSINESS REPORTER
In its latest report, the Insurance and Pension Commission noted that the economic situation was weighing heavily on the insurance sector and called on players in the industry to be more innovative.
Telecel last week partnered Zimnat Life to roll out a mobile insurance product, Telecare, that offers its subscribers funeral, hospital and local and international travel cover.
Head of marketing, Clever Isaya, said the initiative was unique in the market as Telecare provided three different insurance plans under one service.
“Our affordable tariffs will ensure our customers have access to hassle-free insurance all from the convenience of their mobile phone,” Isaya said. Customers will be able to make premium payments on a monthly basis from their mobile phones.
Under the new product offering, any customer who subscribes to the service will also automatically get free funeral cover of up to $250 for any of the registered dependants on the plans.
The partnership between both companies is expected to ensure that the cost of insurance is reduced for the ordinary person in the street.
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After paying $0,45 a month, users benefit from $250 funeral cover, $5 000 for local travel and $20 a day via hospital cash-back for up to 30 days.
Under the partnership, Telecel will provide the mobile platform for its subscribers to access the service, while Zimnat will underwrite and administer the full service.
All claims will be settled through Zimnat, but subscribers are able to submit their claims at any Telecel office for onward transmission to Zimnat.
Telecel Zimbabwe is currently the second largest mobile phone network in Zimbabwe after Econet Zimbabwe with just above two million active subscribers.
Mobile-based insurance was once attempted by Telecel’s biggest rival Econet, but their product called EcoLife flopped after a fallout between organisers of the project.
EcoLife allowed Econet customers to acquire free life cover after meeting a minimum monthly spend on their telephone service with the minimum threshold to qualify being airtime of $3 per month.
Customers did not pay any monthly premiums, as compared to Telecare and other regular insurance schemes.
The information technology system established by Econet used a software system developed by Namibian company, TrustCo.
After just a year of working together, Econet argued that TrustCo began demanding a higher fee for each customer than had originally been agreed, generating a row that ultimately led TrustCo to cancel the contract, while Econet was then forced to terminate the service.
Hundreds of thousands of subscribers lost their money in the process.
