A blazing call for informal sector insurance

Your Money, Your Call

Cresencia Marjorie Chiremba

AT the weekend, yet another devastating fire erupted in the Harare central business district (CBD), reducing a row of tuck shops to rubble and smoke.

Eyewitnesses described frantic scenes as traders tried to salvage their goods, but for most, it was too late.

Stock worth thousands of dollars, carefully accumulated over weeks, months or even years, was reduced to ash in under an hour. For many of these entrepreneurs, this was not just a financial loss; it was the collapse of their entire livelihoods.

This tragedy, while heartbreaking, is not new. From the Glen View 8 furniture complex, where fires break out almost annually, to last year’s inferno at Mbare Musika, informal trading spaces have become increasingly vulnerable to catastrophic loss.

Despite this trend, many traders remain uninsured, exposed to the full force of disaster without any financial buffer. For informal traders across Zimbabwe, these stalls are critical, they are family support systems. They enable them to pay school fees, put food on the table, cover medical expenses and sustain local economies.

But with no insurance, one fire or one break-in is all it takes to send a family from survival to despair.

In the aftermath of such events, many traders not only face bankruptcy, but emotional and physical trauma too.

Health complications triggered by shock, anxiety or stroke are not uncommon and in some heartbreaking cases, the losses have been fatal.

One of the most persistent barriers to insurance in the informal sector is perception. Many traders believe insurance is too costly or reserved for established companies. Others simply do not trust the system, fearing red tape and denied claims. Some have no idea that affordable, customised insurance products even exist.

Microinsurance has evolved to meet their needs. Many Zimbabwean insurers now offer fire and theft cover for informal traders at premiums as low as a few dollars a month.

These can be paid using mobile platforms and registration often requires little more than a national identity card and a mobile phone number.

Some vendors’ associations should start exploring group insurance models, which lower costs and accelerate payouts in the event of mass damage.

Insurance cannot prevent disaster, but it can profoundly soften its blow. A covered trader can restock quickly, resume operations and maintain dignity. Insurance is not a luxury for small traders, it is a smart investment in continuity, resilience and future growth.

In fact, being insured often opens the door to business loans and credit opportunities, further enabling enterprise development.

What is needed now is a collective shift, from both the insurance sector and informal traders themselves.

Insurers must go beyond billboards and enter these communities, speaking the language of the people, simplifying processes and demonstrating reliability.

Government bodies and local authorities should also support insurance education, embedding financial literacy into community engagement.

To every vendor who stands behind a stall from sunrise to sunset, your business matters. It deserves protection.

Fires do not send warnings, but insurance can send help. The recent CBD disaster is not just another headline. It is a call to action because the next flame could land anywhere. And when it does, the best backup is not just prayer, it is an insurance policy.

Cresencia Marjorie Chiremba is a marketing and customer service consultant, customer experience columnist and sales and service trainer. Contact details: [email protected] or +263712979461, 0719978335, 0772978335, www.customersuccess.co.zw