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HARARE – EcoSure, the micro-insurance product from Econet Life, has played a significant role in raising the country’s insurance penetration by over 200%, from as low as 5% to over 16%.
The innovative and award-winning insurance product provides cover to millions of Zimbabweans and allows thousands more to have a decent burial.
EcoSure General Manager Godwin Mashiri said the insurance service currently covers over three million people, who all register and maintain their cover using mobile phones.
“We are proud that through EcoSure we have extended insurance cover to millions of Zimbabweans, and in particular that we have successfully reached millions of previously marginalized and financially excluded citizens, who now know what insurance is and are benefiting from its cover,” said Mashiri.
EcoSure allows Zimbabweans to sign up for micro-insurance and pay their monthly premiums from wherever they are, using their mobile phones. Their claims are also settled via mobile money, using the same digital mobile channel.
“Leveraging digital solutions has been key for us in scaling the service, keeping premiums low, and reaching the previously uninsured,” Mashiri said. He added that in the past year alone, EcoSure had helped more than 10 000 families accord decent burials for their loved ones because of the affordable funeral cover that it offers.
The micro-insurance product offers packages ranging from as low as ZWL$50 per person, per month (less than one US dollar), and claims payouts as high as ZW$500 000.
The company was recently recognised as the most innovative insurance firm in its industry category, with the adjudicators lauding it for making client communication “clearer, simpler and more comprehensible through the use of innovative technologies”.
Speaking at the prestigious 2021 Insurance Survey and Awards ceremony, hosted by the National Social Security Authority (NSSA) and the Zimbabwe Independent, survey analysts Mark and Associates said: “Econet Life (through EcoSure) has managed to leverage off the technology and ecosystems developed by group companies depicting flexibility of the business to adapt to the new business trends ushered in by Covid-19 pandemic.”
During the Covid pandemic, the digital nature of EcoSure has meant that the health and safety of clients is assured, since registration for an EcoSure policy, payment of monthly premiums, and the settlement of claims, are all conveniently done via digital, off the client’s mobile phone – with minimum or no movement required.