Source: Insurance industry still far from pre-hyperinflation peak, IPEC board member says – herald
Business Reporter
Zimbabwe’s insurance and pensions sector has staged a remarkable recovery from the ravages of hyperinflation but remains a fraction of its former size relative to the economy, a senior industry official has said.
Speaking at the Insurance and Pensions Commission (IPEC) symposium in Victoria Falls today, IPEC board member and actuary Mr David Mureriwa said that while nominal figures had recovered to levels last seen in 2000, the industry’s contribution to gross domestic product had collapsed from 15 percent to just 2, 5 percent.
“If we try to compare 2025 with the year 2000, we are almost at par, which is very positive,” Mr Mureriwa told delegates. “But the challenge I have with that good performance is that we are still 2, 5 percent of GDP. In the year 2000, we were almost at 15 percent. We need to set appropriate targets for ourselves.”
Total industry premiums stood at US$1, 32 billion last year, with assets at US$4, 3 billion. By contrast, in 2000 the industry wrote US$5, 8 billion in premiums before hyperinflation eroded value. At its peak, the sector accounted for 15 percent of GDP, equivalent to roughly US$8, 6 billion.
Mr Mureriwa said the industry ought to be writing US$5, 5 billion in premiums, or about 10 percent of GDP, by now. He added that even if all premiums were used to meet claims, the sector would fall far short of the US$1–1, 5 billion that Reserve Bank Deputy Governor had indicated was required.
“If we compare our total assets of US$4, 3 billion, we are more like a medium-sized insurance firm in South Africa – number 25 or 26. Our industry needs to be having something like US$15 to US$20 billion,” he said.
Tracing the sector’s trajectory, Mr Mureriwa recalled that hyperinflation – which peaked at 231 billion percent – wiped out much of the industry’s value. By February 2009, surviving assets stood at just US$2, 7 billion, representing a loss in excess of US$3, 1 billion, largely from fixed-interest securities.
The funeral sector, he noted, emerged as a dominant force after the crisis, having continued operations throughout the economic collapse. By 2012, funeral products accounted for 80 percent of life insurance premiums. That proportion had since moderated to about 68 percent by 2025, reflecting a more diversified product mix.
Product innovation had gathered pace in recent years, Mr Mureriwa said, citing examples such as agricultural index insurance, telemetrics-based motor cover, and portable pensions tailored to the informal sector. He also pointed to a shift towards tangible value propositions, including products promising benefits in kind such as cattle.
Despite these advances, he emphasised that rebuilding trust remained the industry’s central challenge.
“To gain confidence, we must demonstrate trust. It is very simple. If someone brings in their dollar today, at the end of the year they expect to have at least that dollar plus some interest. That is the way to go,” he said.
“Relevance over complexity,” he added. “Let us clear our claims. Embrace the informal sector. Link products with necessities. Use digital tools. The future is adaptive. Let us grow the industry.”
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