Commissioner warns insurance players

Business
Insurance companies that do not give clients quality service will be thrown out of business, the Commissioner of Insurance has warned.

Insurance companies that do not give clients quality service will be thrown out of business, the Commissioner of Insurance has warned.

REPORT BY DALPHINE TAGWIREYI

Speaking at the certification of Cell Holdings by the Standards Association of Zimbabwe (SAZ) last week, Manett Mpofu said her office was inundated with complaints from policyholders that had not received insurance claims.

“Organisations that do nothing in assuring their clients of quality will be out of business and that will make our lives a bit easier as there won’t be various complaints from people who have not received their claims,” Mpofu said.

“Hence, I implore all entities under our supervision to proactively work towards the attainment of quality assurance standards like what has been done by Cell Holdings”.

During the switch to multi-currencies in 2009, a number of insurance firms failed to meet their obligations and told policyholders to start afresh.

Cell Holdings has been accorded with an ISO 9001:2008 quality standard certification by the SAZ.

CellMed Health and Cell Funeral, subsidiaries of Cell Holdings, are the first medical funder and funeral service companies to be ISO certified.

Eve Gadzikwa, director general of SAZ, said that the world’s obsession with speed and efficiency had resulted in an arguably general neglect of the job itself.

“Businesses have neglected getting the job done and getting it done right.

“Quality affects every facet of our operations from organisational design right through to delivery,” she said.

“The ZWS ISO 9001 Quality Management System then comes in, and is probably the reason why it continues to be one of the best-selling standards which has registered phenomenal growth and whose use has contributed to improving the way businesses operate.”

Gadzikwa commended Cell Holdings for making a wise business decision of getting ISO accredited.

“The nation’s economic history has made consumers become skeptical about whom they insure with,” said Gadzikwa. “I have no doubt that this certification you have attained here today will point to your credibility, your promptness in honouring claim obligations and your quality of service delivery.”

She said many Zimbabwean consumers lost confidence in the insurance industry. Gadzikwa however added that it was pleasing to observe the gradual improvement in trust levels in the industry since the adoption of the multi-currency system in Zimbabwe.