Month: May 2020

Borrowers should deal only with registered microfinance institutions

By Tawanda Mpoperi

The need for client protection when it comes to microfinance has never been more important than it is now in such a complex economic environment and in an industry with such a high number of players.

According to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Statement for 2020, there are 212 microfinance institutions in operation. With so many microfinance institutions and the rapid digitalisation of business processes, as well as unregistered institutions advertising what appear to be attractive loans, it is easy in such a dynamic environment to be taken advantage of and caught up in a debt trap.

It is in these uncertain times that client protection becomes imperative to ensure a high level of ethics and integrity in the microfinance industry.

Armed with the Microfinance Act regulators have made a decent endeavour to place client protection at the forefront of the service delivery standards expected of registered microfinance institutions.

It is important for every borrower to know these service standards and be wary of any attempt to expose them to potentially harmful financial situations.

Microfinance institutions are permitted to operate only when fully licensed and registered with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. In order to safeguard your wealth and peace of mind it is important that you engage only with a registered microfinance institution that operates in compliance with client protection regulations.

Every registered microfinance institution is issued annually with a certificate, which it is required to display prominently wherever it conducts its business.

Borrowers need to be wary of a recent trend that has emerged in the economy of some unregistered lenders who come under the guise of offering guaranteed instant loans with lax loan application requirements and in turn charge exorbitant interest rates.

A number of unfortunate borrowers have fallen prey to these unregistered lenders and have lost their entire life savings in the process. However, when you deal with registered institutions, on the other hand, there is a set outline for recourse to the regulator which guarantees you of professional and ethical conduct from your microfinancier.

Integrity and transparency are significant factors that any borrower should expect in all transactions with a lending institution.

The Microfinance Act provides a clear outline of the need for full disclosure of interest rates and all other charges on loans to borrowers.

In addition to the requirement that these charges be stipulated in the loan agreement, the Act requires that loan charges be prominently displayed at the premises operated by the microfinance institution.

This is required so that every potential client of a registered institution is made aware of the charges and can make an informed decision to borrow without being deceived by material facts put in fine print.

One major issue that unregistered lenders find difficult to disclose to would-be clients is the high costs and risks associated with borrowing, as borrowing comes with its own potential pitfalls, primarily the risk of becoming over indebted.

Uncontrolled borrowing can lead to a situation where debt obligations outweigh the available income. This is a very uncomfortable position to be in.

With the current fluid economic conditions, the propensity among individuals to borrow increases, as people try to subsidize strained incomes. Given these precarious circumstances it may lead one to take out more loans than they can afford and end up overburdened with debt.

Although potential borrowers consciously apply for a loan in the full knowledge of their existing obligations, it is incumbent upon the lender to protect the client by ensuring that the borrower is not already suffering from too much debt.

With the help of the Reserve Bank, a Central Credit Registry has been established where all credit obligations to financial institutions are recorded. This is one of a raft of measures put in place to ensure that financial institutions and would-be borrowers alike are not exploited.

It allows any registered credit institution to cross-reference information about a borrower to verify his or her credit status and help assess the client’s borrowing capacity.

During the normal business of a microfinance institution, employees will come across confidential financial and business strategy information provided by borrowers for credit purposes.

Data protection principles require that this information be used only for the purposes for which it was requested. Should any member of a microfinance institution access your information for any purpose other than that for which it was initially obtained, you have a right of recourse.

Zimnat Microfinance has been in existence since 2012. It boasts of a solid financial background being, as it is, part of the Zimnat family.

Deliberate efforts have been made to guarantee client protection. Client protection principles have been embedded in the entirety of our service delivery channels, systems and processes.

With Zimnat, you can rest assured that you will be served by professionally trained staff offering high quality and affordable products and services to meet your financial needs. With branches and resident agents located across the whole of Zimbabwe, we strive to ensure efficient and excellent client service to meet your needs and make your life better.

Zimnat is a diversified financial group operating in Zimbabwe and associated with Sanlam South Africa, the largest non-banking financial services group on the continent. Zimnat has four business units, namely Zimnat General Insurance, Zimnat Life Assurance, Zimnat Financial Services and Zimnat Asset Management.

Alternatively, you can send us an email on customercare@zimnat.co.zw

Visit our social media,

https://zw.linkedin.com/company/zimnat.

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Employers can establish schemes to give employees peace of mind

In an economy facing a shrinking disposable income and personal life insurance is fast becoming an afterthought, the importance of employer assisted insurance schemes has never been more critical. Employer assisted schemes can help employees prepare for the different stages of their lives and that of their families. These schemes help ensure that in the event of their death, their dependants can continue living a normal and comfortable life.

Zimnat Life Assurance is offering employers several solutions to help them make their employees better by ensuring they live their best lives without worrying about tomorrow because Zimnat Life will take care of everything.

Group Life Assurance Schemes.

The Zimnat Life Group Life Assurance Plan is an insurance scheme an employer can take out to cover the lives of employees. The scheme ensures that a lump sum payment is made to the beneficiaries of an employee who passes on. It is worth to note that the benefit is only payable if the employee passes on whilst in the service of the employer. The employer is responsible for paying the premiums for this insurance cover.

The lump sum benefit due to the surviving dependants is paid as a multiple of the employee’s annual salary. In addition to the above stated benefits the employer has the option of adding more benefits to their employees’ covers such as cover for total and permanent disability. Furthermore, employers can add the group funeral insurance which can guarantee their employees get a decent funeral in the event of their untimely passing.

Pension Fund

A pension fund can be defined as a financial vehicle to which the employer and employees contribute for the ultimate financial benefit of the employee and his family at retirement, retrenchment, death, disablement or termination of employment. Many people are scared of retirement because they do not have a financial back-up plan. Pension funds can help you stay in control of your life, as if you never left employment. The Zimnat Employee benefits scheme also offer employers the opportunity to contribute to a pension fund for their employees guaranteeing them of a comfortable life after retirement.

Credit Life Protection

The Zimnat Life Credit Life Protection scheme ensures that Zimnat Life Assurance will meet the financial obligations due to the employees in the event of their death or permanent disability. Debt settlement is one of the most difficult adjustment for most dependants in the event of the breadwinners’ death or incapacitation, and the Zimnat credit life protection scheme was developed to ease such burdens.

Mortgage Protection

Settling of mortgages in the event of the death of the breadwinners is a common predicament that several families are going through. With the Zimnat Mortgage Protection scheme, employers are guaranteeing the settlement of outstanding mortgage balances of their employees in the event of their permanent incapacitation or untimely death. Zimnat life guarantees payment of the outstanding mortgage balance in the event of the death or total and permanent disablement of the borrower who was insured under the mortgage protection scheme. With this policy employers enable their employees’ surviving families to retain ownership of property in the event of the death of the employee without fear of such properties being repossessed.

Financial Planning

Pension Funds and Group Life Assurance schemes are very useful safety nets for the future, however despite their benefits they an employer’s attempt to providing the bare minimum cushioning. Sound individual financial planning cannot be an afterthought if one wants to guarantee a comfortable life for their dependants. Taking the time to speak to a Zimnat Financial advisor is the first step towards financial freedom and comfort that everyone needs.

Regular Reviews

To ensure the maximum benefit of these schemes, there is need for a constant review of your financial plan to match the economic environment. One must constantly review their plans to align with the changing needs of the future.

For more details contact us on e-mail customercare@zimnat.co.zw

Alternatively, you can call us on 024‑2707582/3/5/6.

https://zw.linkedin.com/company/zimnat

You can also contact us on our toll free number (08080063/4/6) or visit our self-care portal (http://selfcare.zimnat.co.zw/)

Get the Zimnat Legal Insurance

Life is journey full of cycles of happiness as well as sorrow and Oscar Wilde once said “to expect the unexpected in life shows a thoroughly modern intellect,” you cannot plan or schedule most of the traumatic life events but all you can do is be prepared for whatever comes your way. In the course of your life you may find yourself in a situation that may warrant you to seek legal recourse from the courts of law. Most of these instances occur at a time when you are least prepared for the financial obligations that come with enforcing your rights including hiring your legal counsel. Given the big financial implications associated with seeking legal recourse, you may find yourself in an untenable financial position and it is this gap that Zimnat General Insurance seeks to cover with the Zimnat Legal Insurance. This new plan seeks to make your life better by providing you with affordable legal representation should the need arise.

The Zimnat legal insurance is a legal protection plan which allows you access to the law by providing legal advice and covering legal costs of a dispute ranging from civil, criminal and labour cases. The plan has several options from which you can choose the type of legal representation you may need from the following options:

*NB the cover includes but is not limited to the below options

Ultimate cover:

Civil matters
Criminal Matters
Labour matters

Civil Cover:

Accidental claims cases
Contractual disputes
Delictual disputes

Labour Cover:

Workplace related disputes
Disciplinary proceedings
Discrimination at work
Unfair dismissals

Once involved in a legal dispute or in a situation requiring legal representation you can simply call Zimnat for assistance. Zimnat will then advise you of the status of your claim within 48 hours, after which you are issued with an authorisation letter to give to a lawyer and access legal representation

To ensure your life is made better in situations where the insured individual is incapacitated or behind bars, a next of kin can lodge the claim on your behalf, verification and issuance of letter of authority are done within 8 hours

Payments for premiums can be made through various channels such as Payroll deduction, Ecocash, Bank stop order, Cash/swipe. Additionally, once you have signed up you receive a complimentary funeral cash pay-out for yourself and every family member you may choose to put on the plan.

Call us today for a quote on toll free number 08080063/4/6 or email customercare@zimnat.co.zw

Alternatively, you can visit our social media,

https://zw.linkedin.com/company/zimnat

If you suspect a case of coronavirus COVID-19, please contact your nearest emergency rapid response team on the following toll-free numbers:

National Emergency Rapid Response Centre: 08002000

Wilkins Hospital (Harare): 08009000

Thorngroove Infectious Hospital (Bulawayo): 08009001

Mutare Infectious Diseases Hospital: 08009002

Gweru General Hospital: 08009003

Masvingo General Hospital: 08009004

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Life insurance: An expression of altruistic love

The love for family is an expression of love in its purest form and each family has its own way of expressing that love. One of the common ways’ families show love to one another is by taking care of each other but what would happen if one of them were to die unexpectedly? Would that expression of love still exist? With life insurance that is possible!

Buying life insurance is altruism at its purist form because you are putting the needs of your loved ones before your own. It is a way to show the one you care most deeply about that you will love and take care of them while you are living and even after you die. However, there are some topics that we as a people just don’t like talking about and life insurance one of the major issues that can cause some discomfort, because it sounds expensive and brings to mind your own mortality.

Family discussions around life insurance and estate planning are shunned upon because nobody wants to be reminded about his or her demise and a thought that you don’t benefit directly from having life insurance lingers at the back of your minds. But death is an eventuality that we all need to face and make sure you continue to protect your loved ones by adequately preparing them for a life after us because when it happens it’s pretty much beyond your control. And one of the ways to get your affairs in order is to put life insurance in place. That way should the unexpected happen, you will have everything setup to financially protect your loved ones.

The concept of life insurance is simple: when you die while your policy is active, your family will receive a cash payout from your insurer called a death benefit. The death benefit is to help your family with either your funeral or post burial expenses depending on the type of life insurance you have. Depending on your lifestyle, family structure, and financial position, different types of life insurance coverages exist that can be customized to make sure that your family still feels the warmth of your embrace even after you are gone. However, despite these benefits of life insurance some perfect excuses always come up to help you avoid thinking or talking about life insurance with your loved ones:

As highlighted above many people simply disregard life insurance due to the fear of mortality as well as its perceived cost. Most people overestimate the cost of life insurance however Zimnat Life as an insurer determined to make life better for all, offers different policy types to accommodate the different financial positions of all customers. To determine what your premiums would be, a good first step is to complete a needs analysis to calculate your coverage needs. Then, ask for a quote from any of Zimnat’s financial advisors at no charge (and no obligation to purchase), so you have nothing to lose. Think about this: if money is tight in the household right now, imagine how tight it would be if you weren’t around to contribute financially to it?

I am young I don’t need life insurance right now

As someone who just graduated from tertiary education, got that dream job and starting a family any thought about your unexpected mortality is the least about your worries. However, as you come of age and become financially independent, we also gain our own dependents whether we are married, or single and such major life milestones also serve as an impetus to start thinking about life insurance. When the thought that young people do not need life insurance crosses your mind ask yourself this question, “Can my family manage financially if I am not around?” If you can’t get a positive answer for this question, then its time you call or get in touch Zimnat’s readily available financial advisors and start planning for your loved ones.

We’re finally empty nesters, so nobody is depending on us.

Many a time we attend funerals of our relatives who die after a long happy life only to discover that they did not have a funeral policy! You find yourself with a lot of questions: How a successful person who has lived up to his/her golden age doesn’t have a life insurance policy for a death they knew was imminent? This dilemma can be attributed to resigning to the thought that you are now an empty nester your dependents have all come of age and they don’t depend on you, so you don’t need life insurance. However, just because children have left the nest, doesn’t mean they’re completely financially independent, will they be able to pay for your funeral expenses on their own. Also, remember that life insurance isn’t only designed to protect just children; it’s also to protect the remaining spouse. Would your partner be able to manage without your financial assistance? If you can’t get a definitive yes to this question, then it’s time to visit your nearest Zimnat office or agent and get a quote today!

So, while it is important to show your love in many ways, do not overlook the importance and significance of life insurance. Having a proper life insurance in place can bring peace of mind, knowing that your loved ones and beneficiaries will be taken care of financially when you die. Showing your love shouldn’t end at death, and with Zimnat Life Assurance it doesn’t.

Zimnat Life Assurance company is a registered life insurance company offering a wide range of customer centric insurance policies ranging from Zimnat Family Funeral Plan, Whole life cover, Zimnat Life security plan, personal pension plan as well as the recently launched Kwedu/Ngekhaya diaspora funeral plan. To find out more about which insurance plan best expresses your love for your loved ones please feel free to get in touch with Zimnat’s advisors on the following platforms toll-free number 08080063/4/6.

Alternatively you can send an email at customercare@zimnat.co.zw or visit our social media sites, which are https://www.facebook.com/Zimnat/, https://twitter.com/ZimnatOfficial and https://zw.linkedin.com/company/zimnat

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Lets talk about SMART lending with Zimnat Microfinance

The Zimbabwean financial services landscape is experiencing some turbulence which as further exacerbated the need for client protection when it comes to microfinance.

The current inflationary pressures being experienced in the economy coupled with an increase in the number of players in the microfinance industry leaves borrowers in a rather vulnerable position.

According to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Statement for 2019, there are 205 microfinance institutions in operation.

With so many microfinance institutions and the rapid digitalisation of business processes, as well as a surge in the number of bogus loan sharks, it is easy in such a dynamic environment to be taken advantage of and caught up in a debt trap.

It is in these uncertain times that client protection becomes imperative to ensure a high level of ethics and integrity in the microfinance industry.

Armed with the Microfinance Act, regulators and service providers, like Zimnat microfinance have made a decent endeavour to place client protection at the forefront of the service delivery standards expected of registered microfinance institutions.

Microfinance institutions epitomize responsible financial inclusion, as such integrity and transparency are significant factors that any borrower should expect in all transactions with a lending institution.

Responsible microfinance institutions draw guidance on customer protection from the Microfinance Act as well as the 7 principles of client protection, which include but not limited to the prevention of over-indebtedness.

Responsible microfinanciers take all the necessary measures to ensure that a borrower still has the capacity to repay a loan without becoming over-indebted.

With the current fluid economic conditions, the propensity amongst individuals to borrow increases, as people try to subsidise their strained incomes. Many end up overburdened with debt. This is a very uncomfortable position to be in.

With the help of the Reserve Bank, a Central Credit Registry has been established where all credit obligations to financial institutions are recorded.

This is one of a raft of measures put in place to ensure that financial institutions and would-be borrowers alike are not exploited.

It allows any credit institution to cross-reference information about a borrower to verify his or her credit status and help assess the client’s borrowing capacity.

Zimnat as an organisation driven to make life better, has made deliberate efforts to guarantee client protection by embedding principles of smart lending and client protection in its service delivery channels, systems and processes.

Through the use of data analytics and customer success management Zimnat microfinance has been able to complement existing measures to help customers get the funding they need without falling into the debt trap.

Furthermore, keeping in line with the Microfinance Act as well as the client protection principles Zimnat Microfinance displays all the terms and conditions for its products at its premises to ensure borrowers have all the material facts for them to make a decision that does not lead to over-indebtedness.

In addition, strict data protection measures have also been put in place to ensure that customer information is being used only for the purposes for which it was requested.

With Zimnat, you can rest assured that you will be served by professionally trained staff offering high quality and affordable products and services to meet your financial needs.

With branches and resident agents scattered across the whole of Zimbabwe, Zimnat microfinance strives to ensure efficient and excellent customer service to meet your needs and make your life better.

Zimnat Microfinance has been in existence since 2012. It boasts of a solid financial background being, as it is, part of the Zimnat family.

Alternatively you can send us an email on customercare@zimnat.co.zw

Visit our social media,

https://zw.linkedin.com/company/zimnat.

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Zimnat promoting work health balance

By Pamela Mukuze

When we think about our offices or workplaces, fitness and work-health balance is not the first thing that comes to mind. Many of us spend our days sitting at our desks looking at computer screens.

We may even have lunch at our desks. Encouraging fitness in the workplace can be extremely beneficial to both the organisation and staff.

The endorphins released during those few minutes of exercise can help boost the self-confidence and energy. It can also bring more positive attitudes amongst your staff making them less stressed.

A motivated and happy staff is a golden goose for exceptional business performance. Encouraging physical and mental exercise increases productivity in the workplace by boosting mental alertness and reducing staff errors.

Exercising also increases the blood flow to your brain, which helps sharpen your awareness and makes you better prepared to tackle your next big project.

An organisation has fit employees, it is likely there will be less downtime, as the number of staff members calling in sick is significantly reduced. There are many ways for employers to encourage their staff to keep fit, regardless of a company’s size.

Zimnat makes life better for its staff by providing a platform for them to wind down and enjoy some bit of exercise.

This is made possible by the provision of onsite sporting facilities for table tennis and pool where staff can come in and have a crack at some games whilst on lunch or after a long day’s work.

Showing employees that you care about their fitness levels is a great way to boost morale. It demonstrates to team members and colleagues that their health and wellbeing is important to the company they work for.

Below are a few benefits of exercise:

It pumps up your endorphins, relieving stress and increasing energy levels.
It improves your mood, making you happier.
It is good for your muscles and bones.
It can help with skin health.

Contact us today on our toll-free number 08080063/4/6. Alternatively, you can send us an email on customercare@zimnat.co.zw.

You can also visit our social media, https://www.facebook.com/Zimnat/, https://twitter.com/zimnatofficial or https://zw.linkedin.com/company/zimnat

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