THE Insurance Council of Zimbabwe (ICZ) says it is planning to increase the insurance penetration rate from the current 2,6% by equipping the rural farming community with knowledge about insurance.
Speaking at a recent handover of prizes for the Rural Schools Insurance Awareness Essay Competition, ICZ vice chairperson and chairperson of the public relations committee, David Nyabadza said one of the short-term insurance industry’s strategic goals was to equip the public with the necessary knowledge and information on insurance.
The results of the initiatives under this strategy, Nyabadza said, will ensure that people appreciate the benefits of using insurance throughout their lives.
“Focusing on the insurance awareness competition we ran for rural schools; our aim is to equip the rural farming community with insurance knowledge for use as security in their economic activity, which is mainly agriculture. The move is meant to increase the use of insurance in the rural and marginalised rural farming communities, as well as create more business for our industry. In terms of our national economic performance, we see a positive influence in raising the insurance penetration ratio from the current estimate of 2,6%,” he said.
Meanwhile, Primary and Secondary Education ministry secretary, Tumisang Thabela said rural secondary schools were targeted to help raise insurance awareness in the rural farming communities which constitute 61% of Zimbabwe’s total population, according to the 2022 Population and Housing Census conducted by Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency.
Pointing out that the livelihood of the rural population was dependent on agriculture, which contributes to the national economy by producing about 70% of raw materials for the production sector she said: “Given that the agriculture sector is currently under serious threat from the effects of climate change — which is causing floods and droughts and that the sector faces various day to day risks like fire, theft, crop and livestock diseases — there is great need to protect the agriculture activities through insurance and risk management.
“I am pleased that this competition is targeting the young population of Zimbabwe. These learners will grow up with knowledge and full appreciation of the benefits of using insurance to protect their economic activities and assets. They are our future leaders, we are counting on them that one day they will lead the country, companies and even their homes with exceptional stewardship qualities.”
Thabela applauded ICZ for coming to the rescue of Rutengeni Primary and Secondary schools that were affected by Cyclone Idai in March 2019 which left learners using tents and unsafe classrooms.
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“ICZ built four classrooms, two ablution blocks with eight squat holes and an administration block. In this competition, the Insurance Council of Zimbabwe structured the prizes to be won not only to benefit the winners but to also benefit other learners in their schools. The prizes include textbooks worth about US$36 000,” she added.
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