Nyaradzo eyes UK market

LOCAL insurance group, Nyaradzo Life Assurance Company, says it intends to spread its wings into the United Kingdom (UK) this year as it seeks to widen its market reach, an official has said.

Speaking at the unveiling ceremony of its partnership with Chicken Inn Football Club in Bulawayo last week, the company's general manager, Tendai Kanjanda said the decision was informed by the number of Zimbabweans living in the UK.

According to the industry regulator, Insurance Pensions and Commissions (IPEC), Nyaradzo commands more than 70% of the funeral insurance market, while life business has grown to about 26% of the market.

"The future is very bright and we recently opened our office in South Africa. We are targeting the diaspora market. There are a lot of Zimbabweans that are in the diaspora and all they need is a decent burial and mostly they would want to be buried back home," Kanjanda said.

"So, we have opened an office in South Africa, we are opening another office in the UK. There is high concentration of Zimbabweans in those two areas and as Nyaradzo, we would want to ensure that they are accorded a decent burial back home," he said.

Pledging to continue to expand their product range, Kanjanda said: "What is very important to us as Nyaradzo is the customer. The customer is key. We are focused on providing value to the customer. Yes, it has seen us grow, currently in terms of buses we have more than 100 and hearses are more than 500."

Last year, the group launched its Sahwira international plan to cater for Zimbabweans living in the diaspora across the globe.

Nyaradzo was established in 2001 as a wholly-owned indigenous Zimbabwean company.