Ms Muyenga
BUUMBA CHIMBULU writes@SunZambian
CLAIMS amounting to over K7 million have been paid by Savenda General Insurance Limited (SGI) as at September 2020 despite the current challenges in the industry.
SGI Managing Director, Irene Muyenga, said much this was a huge milestone for the company especially considering that the industry had also been hit by Covid-19 and declining macroeconomic fundamentals.Ms Muyenga said the company currently had standing claims of only K500,000 after paying out claims to customers.She was speaking during the welcoming cocktail of the 2020 Insurance conference last week in Chongwe.“We have had our share of claims with huge motor claims of K1 million and above. We were mainly hit by two agriculture claims amounting to over US$400,000 which we have since paid. That is not a small achievement for a company like ours,” she said.Ms Muyenga however said despite milestone achieved, the company’s journey was not without challenges.She explained that inflation pushed labour and production costs up while Covid-19 reduced demand for insurance motor accidents, aviation and hospitality.“The company reduced premiums volumes due to economic slowdown. Clients reduced covers as a response to reduced economic activities,” she said.Ms Muyenga however said Covid-19 accelerated the digitalisation of the insurance customer journey in the Zambian insurance industry.Pensions Insurance Authority (PIA) acting Registrar, Tresford Chiyavula, urged all insurance companies to be more innovative.Mr Chiyavula encouraged the industry players to help bridge the insurance gap by coming up with products that would meet the needs of the Zambians.Insurers Association of Zambia (IAZ) president, Christabel Banda, observed a shift in issuance penetration ratio with the latest figures currently standing at 2.6, the highest in years.
“This penetration ratio shows the industry’s resolve to improve on its service delivery to members of the public while meeting their insurance needs fully,” Ms Banda said.
