News / National
Zimbabwe funeral policies face scrutiny
27 Oct 2022 at 01:06hrs | Views
Following a public outcry against funeral assurance, the Insurance and Pensions Commission is engaging the Zimbabwe Association of Funeral Assurers on policy design and benefits to address concerns that policy holders do not get a fair deal.
This follows an explosion on social media platforms over the past week since Twitter user Alister Nyamarai Chibanda accused a service provider of revoking the policy for failing to pay subscriptions for three months, when that person had been paying their monthly subscriptions consistently for three decades.
This prompted a lot of support. Some said issues beyond their control such as sickness, could have caused the defaults, but companies were not taking that into consideration.
Following the outcry, IPEC has now acted to address the public's concerns and yesterday released a statement acknowledging them.
"IPEC acknowledges the concerns that have been raised by the public on the matter and wish to advise that prior to the current discussions on the matter, IPEC, in line with its mandate of protecting the interests of policyholders, was already in engagement with funeral assurers through their association Zimbabwe Association of Funeral Assurers (ZAFA) on these and other issues."
"These engagements, which also centre around product design and pricing are expected to culminate in reforms that will ensure the vibrancy and sustainability of the sector and the protection of policyholder interests. IPEC will update stakeholders on the progress regarding this exercise," IPEC said in the statement.
It also invited policyholders with complaints against any of IPEC's regulated entities, to approach them with their complaints at their Harare and Bulawayo offices or visit their website.
ZAFA president Mr Arthur Mukasi could not be reached for comment as his mobile phone went unanswered.
This follows an explosion on social media platforms over the past week since Twitter user Alister Nyamarai Chibanda accused a service provider of revoking the policy for failing to pay subscriptions for three months, when that person had been paying their monthly subscriptions consistently for three decades.
This prompted a lot of support. Some said issues beyond their control such as sickness, could have caused the defaults, but companies were not taking that into consideration.
Following the outcry, IPEC has now acted to address the public's concerns and yesterday released a statement acknowledging them.
"IPEC acknowledges the concerns that have been raised by the public on the matter and wish to advise that prior to the current discussions on the matter, IPEC, in line with its mandate of protecting the interests of policyholders, was already in engagement with funeral assurers through their association Zimbabwe Association of Funeral Assurers (ZAFA) on these and other issues."
"These engagements, which also centre around product design and pricing are expected to culminate in reforms that will ensure the vibrancy and sustainability of the sector and the protection of policyholder interests. IPEC will update stakeholders on the progress regarding this exercise," IPEC said in the statement.
It also invited policyholders with complaints against any of IPEC's regulated entities, to approach them with their complaints at their Harare and Bulawayo offices or visit their website.
ZAFA president Mr Arthur Mukasi could not be reached for comment as his mobile phone went unanswered.
Source - The Herald
