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Rural Insurance uptake increases

• There was an increase in Insurance uptake in 2020, which stood at 5 % from 2.8% in 2015.
• Government introduced Weather Index Insurance which is a micro insurance type of product to over 1 million farmers.
• There are a lot of initiatives that are taking place to ensure that people in rural areas also have access to insurance.

Pensions and Insurance Authority (PIA) says insurance uptake among rural communities has been increasing over the years.
Speaking in an interview with Money FM News, Authority Communications Manager Doreen Kambaganji said during the farming season, farmers have access to Weather Index Insurance which covers them in case of a drought and are able to get compensation if their crops do not mature.
Ms. Kambaganji stated that Weather Index Insurance is a micro insurance type of product which was introduced by Government to cover over 1 million farmers.
She explained that this is one way insurance providers are expanding and reaching out to rural communities, considering that most commercial farmers take up insurance.
“Government introduced Weather Index Insurance which is a micro insurance type of product to over 1 million farmers. So that means that farmers during the farming season have what we call Weather Index Insurance and this covers them in case of a drought and if their crops do not mature, they are able to get compensation.”
“So this is one way we are expanding and reaching out to people in rural communities. We know that most commercial farmers do take up insurance, however our own farmers, have not been taking up insurance. So as a way of including them and ensuring that they are also protected, we came up with this initiative and government has partnered with us,” Ms. Kambaganji revealed.
Ms. Kambaganji further disclosed that there are a lot of initiatives that are taking place to ensure that people in rural areas also have access to other forms of insurance that have been introduced on the Zambian market.
“There are a lot of initiatives that are taking place to ensure that people in rural areas also have access to insurance. It’s not just Weather Index Insurance but other forms of insurance that have also been introduce on the Zambian market to benefit people in rural communities and the informal sector who are not able to afford traditional insurance.”
Meanwhile, Ms. Kambanganji has revealed that there was an increase in Insurance uptake in 2020, which stood at 5 % from 2.8% in 2015.
She said this is according to the 2020 Finscope survey which measures financial inclusion every five years.
“Last year we had what we call the 2020 Finscope survey, this is a survey that measures financial inclusion every five years, and we saw an increase in the uptake of insurance. In 2015 we were at 2.8% and by the end of 2020 we were at 5% so there has been an increase and if you look at the average across Africa in terms of uptake, it’s usually between 7.5% somewhere there so you can see that we are not so far from getting to the African average,” she explained.

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