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Natasha Chamba, Business Reporter
ONLY five percent of Zimbabweans have funeral assurance cover with service providers being accused of short-changing their clients through poor service.
This emerged during a Zimbabwe Funeral Assurance (ZAFA) and Service Conference underway in Bulawayo, where service providers were challenged to improve service and ensure policy holders get value for their money.
Acting head of insurance and micro-insurance at the Insurance and Pensions Commission, Mr Nhau Chivingira, said insurance penetration, including funeral cover, was low as clients were not satisfied with the quality of services offered by some players.
“Insurers that provide low quality services are usually those that cut corners in the industry and the Commission may revoke product licence if it is not satisfied that the product meets desired criteria, and this best applies to micro-insurance firms,” he said.
A recent Zimbabwe Customer Satisfaction Index compiled by the Chartered Institute of Customer Management indicates that funeral insurers offer an overall customer satisfaction index of 64,3 percent.
This is lower than recommended global benchmark of 70 percent.
A human resource expert and consultant told the gathering the funeral assurance business has the best model to support quality service if used properly.
“Funeral insurance policy cover should ensure full disclosure not to have hidden costs as with the case with most funeral insurers in Zimbabwe. No funny small print and no surprises for the client,” she said.
“Do not have clients testifying that what they got is not what they initially signed for because a funeral assurance’s mistakes can be the talk of town for ages and this bad publicity is bad for business.”
She said funeral assurance firms in Zimbabwe should move with the times and adopt international best practice.
“The funeral insurers in Zimbabwe should move away from traditional ways of doing things but rather adopt international trends in honouring the client who is not only the deceased but who the deceased leaves behind to witness their funeral,” she said.
“We are moving into a period of strong cultural, religious and modern age expectations. So, funeral insurers have a large part to play in serving the mixed crowd at a funeral and if they manage to do this, quality is what they would have provided.”
Speaking at the same event, ZAFA president Dr Solomon Chikanda, said a well-serviced funeral event can easily be turned into new customers without the need to pay an insurance agent, which help cuts cost.
“When a funeral assurance company provides excellent services in the full view of crowds of hundreds of mourners, you are likely to attract goodwill from those mourners who may be your next new clients,” he said. – @queentauruszw
derick.khumalo