Published: 18 December 2013

ZIMBABWE'S life insurance companies wrote $183 million in net premiums in the half quarter to September 30, 2013 according to figures from a report by the Insurance and Pensions Commission (IPEC).

This report is based on 10 Life companies.

This was an improvement from the parallel period last year when they recorded net premiums to the tune of $129 million.

It also reflected a 33% and 86% annual and quarterly growth rates, respectively. This is attributable to improvements in policyholder confidence and the addition of two former funeral companies as highlighted above. In terms of business composition, the IPEC report shows that for the period under review, the $186 million in gross premium terms was constituted by 93% from recurring business and the balance of 7% was new business.

Corporate (employee benefit) business contributed $132 million or 71% in gross premium whilst the balance was individual lines business.

"This trend may be attributable to the generally low disposable incomes more-so on the part of individuals and the shift of the economy towards the informal sector," explained the report.

On the other hand, in terms of business composition by policy type, it was noted that the three major classes of business were from fund business ($107million or 58%), funeral (27% or $50million) and GLA ($18 million or 15%).

IPEC says it encourages product innovation both to dilute this concentration risk and for sustainability of the industry in the long haul given the on-going changes in the socio-economic set up.
- bh24

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