ZIMBABWE’S insurance industry lacks a unified professional body with powers to discipline practitioners, creating serious accountability gaps at a time when complaints against operators are mounting and the sector is expanding.
This was said by Chartered Governance and Accountancy Institute in Zimbabwe chief executive officer and secretary Lovemore Gomera.
His remarks come as the Insurance and Pensions Commission (Ipec) reported a 44% jump in registered insurance entities and practitioners to 905 in 2025, driven largely by growth in insurance agents. It is a segment where professional standards and accountability have been under scrutiny.
Corporate agents recorded an 80% increase, while sole and multiple agents rose by 49% and 36%, respectively.
At the same time, delayed claims settlements remained the single biggest source of complaints against insurers, accounting for 67% of grievances lodged with direct insurers, according to Ipec’s 2025 report.
The regulator also warned that market conduct oversight remained critical, particularly in motor insurance, where concerns persist over fair value assessments, transparent pricing and timely claims handling.
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“In Zimbabwe, insurance practitioners are licensed under Ipec’s regulatory framework and various qualifications are offered through bodies such as the Insurance Institute of Zimbabwe (IIZ),” Gomera said in an interview hosted by HSTv.
“But here is the structural gap: there is no unified, autonomous professional body for insurance practitioners in Zimbabwe with the same powers of discipline, registration, and public accountability that the Public Accountants and Auditors Board or the Law Society of Zimbabwe possess. This means that when an insurance agent mis-sells a product, the consequence, if any, is typically commercial rather than professional.”
Gomera said the absence of professional sanctions meant practitioners could easily continue operating within the sector despite misconduct.
“Thus, the company may lose a regulatory fine and the agent, but retain their professional identity,” he said. “The professional passport is not revoked.”