The newly-appointed Insurance and Pensions Commission (IPEC) commissioner Grace Muradzikwa says Zimbabwe’s insurance industry has shown resilience despite the economic turbulence.
Muradzikwa (GM), an insurance industry veteran, told our business editor, Kuda Chideme (KC), in an exclusive interview that the industry was “safe and stable”. Below are excerpts from the interview.
KC: Congratulations on your latest appointment, which comes at a very crucial point in the history of the insurance sector and the country’s entire financial services industry. What is your assessment of the state of the insurance sector?
GM: Thank you very much for the congratulatory message.
The insurance and pension industry is generally safe and stable in spite of the challenging macroeconomic environment.

The industry has shown strong resilience in the face of business cycles that have been experienced since the turn of the millennium.
The industry has been registering good growth in terms of gross premiums written and assets.
I see massive potential for a rebound as government implements the Transitional Stabilisation Programme and foster macroeconomic stabilisation programmes that should spur strong performance of the economy, which underpins the insurance industry performance.
Like any other sector of the economy, the industry has its own challenges, which I hope through collaborative efforts between government, IPEC as the regulator, and insurance and pension players, we will be able to come up with measures to navigate these challenges.
Currently, major challenges include low consumer confidence, assets/liabilities mismatches, inability to meet minimum capital requirements by some entities, unpredictable rising claims cost, loss of profitability and product relevance.
KC: The Justice Smith Commission made some comprehensive recommendations for the industry. Coming into office, which of these do you see as priority areas?

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