By Wallace Mawire.
Harare, Zimbabwe. (News of The South) – Zimbabwe’s motor industry is facing a threat and real danger from fake motor vehicle insurance policies which are reportedly flooding the market calling for a need for owners and regulators in the insurance industry to come up with mechanisms to prevent the scams.
In a bid to counter scams involving fake insurance policies being offered to vehicle owners, a new online insurance , investments and banking platform, zimselector.com has been availed in Zimbabwe to provide safe services for Zimbabweans at home and in the Diaspora.
The platform will afford clients to compare and buy insurance and banking products online and reduce chances of being robbed of their hard earned cash, according to Lovemore Mahichani, Customer Service Manager for Zimselector.com (PVT) Ltd.
“We want to alert you to a real danger and make sure you don not lose any of your heard earned money. Millions of dollars are being lost to fraudsters. This not only affects the individuals who are
insured under these bogus policies but also affect local government and the insurance providers,” Mahichani said.
He added that if one has bought one of such policies, he will only find out when he has had a loss and wishes to make a claim.
“At that point you will realise that you will not get any compensation for your loss or the premiums that you paid,” he added.
Mahichani added that in difficult times every dollar counts and it is imperative that vehicle owners make sure that insurance policies they buy will actually protect them and have to trust whom they deal with.
“Most insurance agents are honest and ethical, but there is a growing number of dishonest agents who are cheating their customers.
Instead of arranging the policies with the insurer, they create fake policies and steal the premiums,” he said.
He added that customers only discover the scam when they make a claim and the insurer cannot trace their policy because it does not exist.
He urged such issues to be reported to the Insurance and Pensions Commission of Zimbabwe (IPEC) and the police.
“If your agent is registered, you might be able to make a claim from their professional indemnity insurance that official agents must hole,” Mahichani said.
It is understood that any official licensed insurance agent should ne able to prove that they are registered with IPEC. Mahichani says that his organisation, Zimselector.com is a licensed and official
multiple insurance agent and only deals with leading and trusted insurance brands.
According to Mahichani, on 4 June 2015, the Dr John Mangudya, the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) endorsed the zimselector.com platform as being well aligned to the RBZ’s policy of financial inclusion and as an important platform for those in the Diaspora to invest back home.
Mahichani said that RBZ applauded the zimselector.com platform since it resonates with the current trends in ICT.
“Do not be discouraged from insuring your assets though, it is absolutely the correct thing to do, just do it safely. One smart and safe way is to insure online through www.zimselector.com of the zimselector mobile app available on the Google Playstore. You receive your confirmations and documents electronically and will always have a fall back office location and phone line to call,” Mahichani said.
Mahichani added that one other option which the government of Zimbabwe is working on to counter such fake insurance scams involves introduction of electronic insurance cover notes.
He said that Joram Gumbo, Minister of Transport, Communication and Infrastructure Development has consulted the Insurance Council of Zimbabwe (ICZ) to introduce the electronic notes. The project is expected to see insurance companies being linked to databases of the Zimbabwe National Road Agency (ZINARA) and the Central Vehicle Registry (CVR) to ensure that no vehicle was licensed without a valid insurance policy.
“The introduction of electronic cover notes will come with the advantages that include elimination of cheating and issuance of forged cover notes which why one needs to take a look at :zimselector.com where you are kept up to date with technology and most importantly compare your options before buying,” Mahichani said.
Zelina Francis, Business Development Director for zimselector.com said that according to latest data 1,2 million vehicles in Zimbabwe, which is at least 30% are uninsured.
“These drivers risk driving without proper papers. Of the 70% that are insured, it is fair to say that a good number of these have fake insurance. It is difficult to assess the exact number since the systems between insurers and vehicle registration are not linked,” Francis said.
The reported fake insurance scams are also happening at a time when Zimbabwe is facing an influx of second hand imported vehicles. Zimbabwe’s Statistical Agency (ZIMSTAT) reported that from the year 2013 the country had imported on yearly average at least 200 000 vehicles.
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