Authorities have vowed to do everything possible to boost the numbers of people with easy access to insurance products and services across the country.
This – according to Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) – will, among other benefits, go a long way to improving the insurance sector’s contribution towards the growth of the country’s economy.
The vow from Kisu Simwaka, the RBM’s Deputy Governor – Economics and Regulation, was made during this year’s Charter Dinner that the Insurance Institute of Malawi (IIM) organized over the weekend in the commercial city of Blantyre to – among other issues – celebrate landmarks registered in the insurance sector.
It follows some statistics that have been revealing that only 2 percent of the country’s population has access to insurance services and products, making it the smallest in this part of Africa.
However, Simwaka, in an interview with MIJ Online, disclosed that RBM – as an insurance regulator in the country – is doing everything possible to ensure an improvement in the sector’s penetration and contribution to the country’s economic growth.
“Insurance is one of the most important sectors. Ofcourse we are aware that it remains small; both in terms of penetration and its contribution to the country’s economy. We therefore need to sensitize the people about the insurance products and services that are available that they can take up and participate in the economic development of the country,” said Simwaka.
Concurring with Simwaka, the IMM’s President Reuben Kamanga-Kawelele said the institute is also working on improving insurance penetration especially in the rural areas.
“Most of our products and servicess are in English and are also centered in urban areas. So we want to penetrate the rural areas where English is not the first language. So, we are changing the model in terms of using the queen’s language. We want to go local so that people in rural areas should easily appreciate the products and services we have in the languages they use,” said Kamanga-Kawelere.
The IIM President has also disclosed that measures are being put into place aimed at dealing with insurance fraud that has been putting insurance companies at a greater risk in the country.
“Fraud on Motor Insurance will soon be the issue of the past because most of the issues were to do with the insurance disk. Today, if your vehicle insurance is covered with one company, you cannot go to another company because we have put strict measures that we are assured that fraud will be the issue of the past,” said Kamanga-Kawelere.
