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Econet’s EcoSure registers an increase

Business
ECONET Wireless Zimbabwe’s funeral assurance scheme, EcoSure, has registered significant growth in the past few months with indications that since 2015, more than 1 500 burial societies in Bulawayo have joined the scheme.

ECONET Wireless Zimbabwe’s funeral assurance scheme, EcoSure, has registered significant growth in the past few months with indications that since 2015, more than 1 500 burial societies in Bulawayo have joined the scheme.

BY MTHANDAZO NYONI

econet

Speaking on the sidelines of the company’s Mabhodho Promotion function in Bulawayo on Friday where more than 15 burial societies received kitchen utensils worth $6 000, EcoSure general manager, Godwin Mashiri said the scheme was growing from strength to strength especially in Bulawayo.

“We launched the service (concept of burial societies) in Bulawayo last year and now we have over 2 000 burial societies that have already joined EcoSure and its growing. In Bulawayo, we have over 1 500 (burial societies) while countrywide we have over 2000. We have processed more than 400 claims per month, which is over 10 claims per day,” he said.

Mashiri said the reason why they had engaged burial societies was because they wanted to complement them. “We are complementing the burial societies that were there previously. We are making life easy for them to manage their membership and risk,” he said.

The firm has partnered a number of service providers such as Nuffield, Doves, Fidelity, Kings and Queens among others to roll out the product.

The company has also roped in more than 500 agents who will be facilitating claims.

EcoSure offers two payout options in the event of death, either through nominating a relative who will receive the money in their EcoCash account or through a chosen service provider.

EcoSure replaced the once-popular, but now defunct EcoLife which was terminated in 2012.

Econet terminated EcoLife in 2012 — its first venture into the insurance sector — as the initial agreement with Trust Co barred it from engaging another technical partner.

Before termination, an estimated 1,2 million customers had subscribed to the service.

At the time, Econet said it did not owe Trust Co money as it was offering life cover for free to its customers. Early 2014, an arbitrator dismissed a claim by Trust Co that it was owed $6,9 million by Econet and instead ordered that the Namibian firm pay the latter $455,500.

EcoLife allowed Econet’s subscribers to get free life cover on minimum airtime of only $3 per month. Subscribers did not pay any monthly premiums, as with normal insurance schemes.