THE Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe (HAZ) last week signed a memorandum of agreement (MoA) with FBC Insurance Company to provide fire and public liability cover and other insurance offerings for its members in compliance with regulatory licensing requirements. The agreement was signed at the upmarket Coghlan Boutique Hotel in Harare. The MoA is a culmination of negotiations which started in 2023. Our chief sub-editor Zivisai Chagaka (ZC) last week discussed the MoA with HAZ president Emmah Kativu (EK, pictured). Below are excerpts of the discussion:
ZC: Can you give us an overview of the agreement and what it seeks to address?
EK: The agreement facilitates access to affordable and essential insurance products for members of the Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe, helping them remain compliant at reasonable fee levels and helping the hospitality industry in Zimbabwe keep pace with expectations of international travellers. These travellers are highly conscious of a range of peripheral issues when travelling, one of them being insurance cover for host venues so that if there is a problem it can be resolved easily and in a professional, ethical and efficient manner.
ZC: What major areas does the agreement cover?
EK: The key areas of focus are public liability, which means that any health or safety problem that comes up can be addressed by a legitimate and acceptable level of insurance cover, and also fire insurance, which is self-explanatory. Beyond this, the insurance products of FBC are all made available to our members, who can take advantage of the extensive portfolio of such products offered by FBC to its clients.
ZC: In terms of the cost factor, do you think this is a sustainable proposition?
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EK: Key to this offer is the affordability, which is made possible by virtue of the fact that we have many members and together they form an attractive set of clients for FBC, and which can then price them more favourably because of the benefit flowing from the number of our members. Volumes of business mean attractive fee levels, as in all business. It is most certainly sustainable given that FBC is a major player and because of the likelihood of a high uptake of cover by our members across the country.
ZC: What was the motivation behind this initiative?
EK: FBC decided to look at the hospitality operators of Zimbabwe and in reaching out to them identified HAZ as the most suitable partner, since all the principal hospitality operators are members of the association, thus giving easy and direct access to them through the HAZ platform. Both FBC and HAZ are motivated by the need for operators to be covered for all possible situations and for them to be internationally acceptable in terms of their insurance cover status.
ZC: When does the cover start effectively?
EK: The cover is already available and the roll-out will occur now that the FBC team has started reaching out to our members with information and direct communication. Feedback tells us that there is a high level of interest among operators of all sizes and we are confident that the uptake will be excellent.
ZC: What has been the trend in the hospitality industry over the years before this initiative was mooted?
EK: Until now, this area is one that operators have had to address themselves, individually. This means there has been little or no benefit from affordability, resulting from bulk purchase by operators. The smallest operators have often not achieved all they would like to, either through lack of affordable cover or through lack of knowledge.
ZC: How do you expect this partnership to help your members?
EK: This reinforces the many existing benefits to HAZ membership for members, who have value added to their membership through access that might not be as affordable as that which is now on offer to them, no longer individually, but as a large group of members.
ZC: Zimbabwe was recently named Africa’s top destination of the year by Forbes magazine and Tourism minister Barbra Rwodzi also scooping the Tourism Minister of the Year Africa award at the ITB Berlin 2026 earlier this month, where does this put you as a sector vis-a-viz the rest of the continent?
EK: There are many bricks in the wall that is Tourism Zimbabwe and our FBC partnership is one brick that will help strengthen that wall and make it serve its purpose, further enhancing our status as a leading destination that is getting good. Zimbabwe’s reputation as a safe, reliable and legitimate destination will be enhanced by this initiative.
ZC: Do you think destination Zimbabwe is receiving adequate marketing?
EK: More and more effort is being made by the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority and by the private sector to create awareness of this destination and to sell it as widely and effectively as possible. We can never rest on our laurels; so, we must continuously build up our strategy and tactics so that we remain at the front of the pack when it comes to promoting our destination. World travellers are renowned for being fickle so must try as hard as Apossible to be loud and upfront when it comes to marketing our destination and all that it has to offer.
ZC: Any last words?
EK: HAZ has 80 years’ experience in representing its members and we are thrilled to continuously look at new ways and means of extending that service by creating value-addition through identifying what can and must be done to our members and the industry they serve.