Zambia State Insurance Corporation (ZISC) Life says insurance plays a critical role in the performance of the country’s economy as it mobilizes savings and increases wheels of the economy.
Speaking during Money FM Business Radio’s Leading Through Crisis Special Edition Show, Company Managing Director Christabel Banda says it is important for Zambians to take up insurance because it helps to mitigate financial losses once they occur.
Ms. Banda said insurance also allows people and business entities to maintain the same financial level they were at before experiencing a financial loss.
“Insurance is a risk transfer mechanism, that allows people to transfer a risk to an entity that is best placed to handle the risk in an evet a calamity occurs, insurance is there to help smoothen the process when one is faced with a problem,” she said.
“On a personal level insurance helps an individual to plan their life, and for an economy insurance is very important because it helps to keep the wheels of the economy turning and also mobilize savings of a country.”
She however lamented that 42 percent of Zambians lack knowledge about insurance, stressing the need for the sector to do more in educating the masses about the service.
And Ms Banda dispelled the misconception that insurance is an expensive up take, but explained that there are various types of insurance packages that suit different ranges of people.
“It’s actually a misconception to say insurance is expensive because there is something for everyone,” she said.
Ms Banda further says the advent of Covid-19 has affected the insurance sector on so main fronts as businesses, as employers and also as risk carries.
“When you look at the impact of Covid-19, you will see that most companies have registered a reduction in terms of their premiums, because the uptake has slowed down due to the closure of companies they insured,” she explained.
“The pandemic has affected motor insurance as well, am sure you have heard sentiments coming from organizations like the National Road Fund Agency ( NRFA) in charge of the tolling program, they are showing that they has been a reduction in terms of the toll collection signifying that cars on the roads have reduced.”