Plan To Enjoy Your Old Age
Retirement Planning Helps Ensure Old Age Is Enjoyed, Not Endured
Most people see life insurance primarily as a way to protect families in the event of the early loss of a bread winner during his or her working years. However, it can be so much more than that if incorporated in a retirement plan.
Remember it is possible not only to die younger but to live longer than you expect, perhaps for long after you retire. You may face more financial obstacles in the future, when you are no longer working, than in the past.
The Zimnat Personal Pension Plan offers a flexible financial solution that is intended to ensure people are able to enjoy their retirement years as opposed to enduring old age.
Retirement is the ideal time to check off the items on your bucket list, as most people are not able to fulfil their dreams during their working years due to the shortage of time and the many responsibilities they have. After retirement there is plenty of time to freely explore many places and experiences, without the tensions of the workplace.
Benefits
The Zimnat Personal Pension Plan is there to help people make savings for their retirement with built-in flexibility. It offers a liveable income after retirement as well as a guaranteed Death Benefit. The retirement proceeds are exempt from estate duty and protected from creditors or bankruptcy.
If your family is dependent on you then your retirement will affect them. It can affect them positively if you have a sufficient package to enable you to fulfil their wishes. Proceeds from a retirement plan have no territorial limits, meaning that you can afford to retire anywhere in the world and still receive your retirement income.
Most importantly retirement planning is a structured and disciplined way of saving and the beneficiaries are protected by law (SI 323). Members of group pension funds who want to improve their retirement income/packages can do so through the Zimnat Personal Pension Plan.
The way the Zimnat Personal Pension Plan works is simple. Members of the Personal Pension Plan fund make contributions to the fund. These contributions may be recurring, ad-hoc or a lump sum. Contributions are treated as personal and grow from interest declared monthly on the fund, which is market linked. Members have access to their retirement income on or after age 55.
Early retirement due to ill health is available after two years. Beneficiaries have access to funds on the death of the member.
When can we sign up?
It’s never too early to prepare for retirement. Members can sign up for the plan from as early as 18 years of age and as late as 65. It is important to note that a retirement plan is a tax-deferred vehicle, which means the money set aside for retirement grows without accruing tax liabilities.
Every person wants to live an independent life even after retirement. It is important to keep your retirement planning on your priority list so that your dependent family does not suffer after your retirement.
The Zimnat Personal Pension Plan takes care of your financial needs after retirement. From as little as $25 per month one can provide the financial security that gives the principle member and his or her family deserved peace of mind. Zimnat is all about making your life better.
For more details send an email to customercare@zimnat.co.zw or call us on 024-2707582/3/5/6
Written by Patience Mustvanga
Asset Management Holds Key To Long-Term Financial Planning
In an effort to make life better, the Zimnat Group offers services essential for prudent wealth management, from insuring wealth to providing short-term financing solutions and long-term financial planning.
This article seeks to explore the aspect of long-term financial planning. It demystifies the term “Asset Management”, as well as who needs it and why.
The asset manager’s goal is to protect and grow the client’s wealth through investment vehicles in equities, fixed income securities, property and other structured investments. The mysterious science behind it is simply in-depth analysis of economic and political information that allows for efficient allocation of capital.
Who does this initiative Benefit?
Pension funds and corporates are usually more familiar with the need for long-term financial planning than most individuals.
Pensioners should be able to comfortably live off the income from their annuity for the rest of their life, if they've put enough money into it.
Providing this level of financial security for ordinary people is a pension fund's primary aim. In the current climate, this is a serious investment challenge.
For corporates, capital accumulation is important for business expansion. It is required to support the process of establishing new subsidiaries and building them into successful entities that can provide them with a strong return on their investment.
Services On Offer
Zimnat Asset Management provides discretionary and non-discretionary investment management and advisory services to pension funds, life assurance companies, corporate companies, high net worth individuals and families.
Each client’s investments are managed according to a specific strategy, which is extensively discussed and reviewed periodically to align the client’s portfolio with the client’s investment objectives.
Unlike the entities mentioned above, ordinary individuals are usually not inclined to think in terms of long-term financial planning. When they do, investing and savings are viewed as the same thing.
Savings are a part of income set aside in one’s bank account or under one’s pillow or as part of a savings club scheme to spend at a future date.
Investments are savings that generate returns through dividends, interest, rentals and other income-earning schemes.
Investments, when managed correctly, increase in value over time, allowing one to sell at a profit. Individual investment provides a means of attaining financial security and independence. It allows one to build wealth faster and therefore attain goals such as buying a home, saving for retirement or starting a business.
Ordinary individuals may be hesitant to invest because investment tends to be seen as requiring large sums of money.
How Do Unit Trusts Work?
Unit trusts are ideal for small investors. They are investment vehicles that pool investors’ money in a single fund, which is managed by a fund manager. It does not matter how much the individual investor contributes to the fund. It can be as little as $150. Zimnat Asset Management operates several unit trust funds that offer exposure to money market instruments, quoted equities and bonds.
Management of risk is an important factor in long-term financial planning. It not only considers economic fundamentals but the political environment, international relations, the corporate governance practices of listed companies and changes in investment regulations, as well as the social responsibility of the individual or corporation with the wealth.
Zimnat Asset Management continually assesses client portfolios to ensure they are structured according to the underlying risk appetite of each client, with the ultimate objective of hedging against potential capital loss.
In a nutshell, whether you are an individual or corporation, an asset manager will aid you in your long-term financial goals. Zimnat Asset Management provides innovative investment solutions aimed at meeting the wide-ranging requirements of its clients.
For more details send an email to customercare@zimnat.co.zw or call us on (242) 707 582/3/5/6
Website: www.zimnat.co.zw
Zimnat Launches Innovative Billboard Campaign
Zimnat has launched an innovative advertising campaign to let people know some of the ways in which it can make their life better, through the customer friendly insurance and finance services it offers.
Billboards have now been added to the campaign, which has already been promoted through television and the print media. The emphasis is on how Zimnat “makes life better” in different ways. Journalists were taken today to see some of them in Harare.
Some executions speak to the ease and speed with which insurance claims are lodged and processed as well as how Zimnat can help one recover should an unfortunate event befall one.
However, there is also a corporate social responsibility element to one of its billboards along Borrowdale Road, which shows the chalk outline of a body and, using texting shorthand, carries the warning message “pll ovr, dnt txt n drv”.
The other billboards use similarly dramatic executions. Two of the billboards, one by Coke Corner and another on Robert Mugabe Road, have a large head and shoulders image emerging from the billboard of a man who looks frustrated and as if he is about to blow his top. The billboard message reads: “We pay claims quickly to save you the stress.” This billboard is certain to grab the attention of those who pass by it.
Another billboard, at the intersection of Lomagundi Road and Sam Nujoma Street, shows a man who looks worried and seems to be pulling out the billboard in frustration over the claim forms he has to fill in. The corner of the billboard has been physically pulled off. The message reads: “Is this what your claims process looks like? Rather insure with us.”
Perhaps the most dramatic is a billboard on Julius Nyerere Way at Joina City, which has an actual car incorporated in it. “Don’t get stuck. Let us make your life better,” the billboard reads.
Zimnat provides wealth creation, income protection and risk management solutions through its four business units. These are General Insurance, Life Assurance, Asset Management and Microfinance.
The company offers businesses and individuals a variety of products to give them peace of mind. These include motor insurance, home insurance, life assurance, travel insurance, funeral cover, health and accident insurance, pension schemes, unit trusts and private wealth management.
Zimnat is associated with Sanlam, one of the largest financial services groups in South Africa and the biggest non-banking financial services group in Africa.
“Our aim is to make life better for others. This advertising campaign is intended to increase awareness of the many ways in which we can do this,” commented Zimnat Group Marketing Executive Angela Mpala.
Zimnat Assists GMB Explosion Victims
Representatives of the Zimnat Group last week visited survivors of the explosion at the Grain Marketing Board’s Lion’s Den depot and relatives of those who lost their lives in the explosion. They donated, on Zimnat’s behalf, $500 to each family.
At least four GMB employees lost their lives in the explosion, while three were seriously injured.
The total amount donated by Zimnat to the affected families was $3 000. The group also gave them Zimnat branded T-shirts.
Zimnat national sales manager Nunurai Mataringe, who led the delegation that visited the bereaved families and survivors, said the GMB is a client of Zimnat’s General Insurance Division, which provides short‑term insurance.
“Although Zimnat only provides the GMB with short-term insurance, the Group as a whole felt moved to do something to assist those affected by the blast,” he said
“This was a tragic event affecting one of our clients and its employees. We wanted to do something to assist the bereaved and injured, even though they were not covered by our life or funeral policies.
“This sad event does, of course, bring home the importance of having life and funeral insurance. Our insurance policies are intended to make life better for those covered by them. However, our wish to make life better is not limited to the insurance, asset management and microfinance services we provide.
“That is why we felt inspired to visit and make donations to those affected by the GMB blast. It was so unexpected and so devastating that it is difficult to imagine its effect on those so suddenly bereaved and injured. Our hearts go out to them,” he said.
“While nothing can take away the pain of the loss they experienced, we hope that our donation will assist them, if only in a small way, in coping with the financial burdens they are faced with as a result of this blast.”
Your Business Needs Cover
Zimnat in its effort to make life better will today explore exposures that may threaten the profitability and survival of a business and the respective insurance covers to ensure that business is protected at all times. It’s written with the small to medium enterprises that are sustaining the majority of the Zimbabwean economy in mind.
The most common causes of loss to business are amongst fire, lightning, explosions, storms, flooding, impact by vehicles or animals, bursting of pipes amongst others. Regardless of the industry in which a business operates, it’s bound to own some assets. These could be buildings, fittings or equipment used in the days to day running of a business. All assets could be subject to damage by the said causes. It’s wise to ensure that you are covered.
Should any of these perils befall a business on a large enough scale, it is likely that operations are going to be affected. Imagine a fire at a restaurant, it may cause the premises to be closed for the time until the damage is restored, starving the business of income. The business may decide to operate from another premise, at a higher cost. All the while still incurring fixed costs. Even after the premises are restored, It may take time until the business regains its market share. Business interruption cover exists to cover all these eventualities. The insurer will pay an amount equivalent to the gross profit the business would have earned had the disaster not occurred. It will also cover additional costs incurred because of the disaster, like getting a new premise, hiring more staff or getting current staff to work overtime.
Imagine what could happen if you lost a record of what customers who owe you money. It would be as good all the money that customers owe has been lost. Not with accounts receivable cover offered by Zimnat. Accounts receivable insurance provides protection for a variety of situations involving a company's accounts receivable records. First, it will cover a firm for sums that can't be collected from customers due to records being damaged or destroyed by a covered peril.
The coverage also provides reimbursement for collection costs in excess of your normal collection costs. Most businesses incur regular costs for collecting money owed by customers, such as a book keeper spending a few hours each month reminding customers that payments are due. Accounts receivable insurance covers expenses over and above these normal costs, which come as a direct result of a loss. One example of such a cost is the hiring a temporary worker to assist with collection activities. Accounts receivable insurance will also cover the costs of re-establishing your accounts receivable records, such as the costs of hiring an IT consultant that specializes in data loss recovery. Theft insurance covers break in and theft. If will covers property damage resultant from the theft and the loss of stolen items.
Any business with revenue will at some point have cash on their premises. In business, handling money, be it at the premises during working hours, in a safe outside working hours, in transit to the bank or other branches of the business or at directors’ residence can cause some anxiety. Zimnat General Insurance can help you successfully overcome these situations and put you firmly in control of your business. With Zimnat’s Money Policy, you can safeguard your Money no matter where it is.
Replacing commercial glass in a building can be very costly. Structural glass commercial buildings, retail establishments, showrooms, shopping complexes, restaurants and hotels often all have very large glass exposures that can cost thousands to replace. In addition to structural glass, Plate Glass cover protects a wide variety of exposures including Ornaments, Chandeliers, Glass counters and showcase cabinets amongst others.
When materials or stock are an essential asset to your business it is vital that they are protected during transit. A Goods in Transit Insurance policy does this, insuring you against loss, damage or theft when your goods are on the move. Whether you are a tradesman transporting expensive tools and materials from job-to-job, or a retailer that relies on distributing products via a third-party courier, Goods in Transit insurance serves to protect the long term security of your business.
Zimnat's Business All Risk covers items which belong to the policyholder and are usually worn or taken away from the business risk address. These could be phones, laptops, stethoscopes for doctors or any equipment that your business needs to carry around.
Business liability insurance protects a company and/or business owner in the event of a formal lawsuit or any third-party claim. Coverage includes any financial liability incurred in addition to expenses related to the company's legal defence. There are two main types of business liability insurance: general liability insurance and product liability insurance.
- General liability insurance - provides insurance coverage for lawsuits arising from injury to the public, property damage caused by an employee and injuries suffered by the negligent action of employees.
- Product liability insurance - for businesses that manufacture products for sale on the general market. Product liability insurance protects against lawsuits arising from injury or death caused by their products.
Employer's liability insurance protects employers from financial loss if a worker has a job-related injury or illness
Accidental death or injury of an employee in the course of employment is a peril every business owner should be wary of. If unchecked, this could rake up quite a bill for the company in medical bills and compensation to a deceased family. Employee personal accident provides cover for such situations. It provides pay-out for accidental death or injury of employees during the course of their duties.
The last cover we will consider is theft by your own employees. Companies are exposed to significant financial losses annually, due to crime committed by employees and it is reported that Fraud is on the increase. Combined with the growth in the use of electronic data and asset transfers, the fidelity losses faced by employers are increasing substantially. Fidelity Guarantee insurance is designed to indemnify the Insured for the loss of money or property sustained as a direct result of acts of fraud, theft or dishonesty by an employee in the course of employment.
The article has looking at common causes of loss within a business. Zimnat will help you evaluate your heir insurance needs based on potential risks, and tailor make cover best suited to your needs.
Written by Raymond Jowa
For more details send an email to customercare@zimnat.co.zw or call us on +263 242 775 82/3/5/6
Website: www.zimnat.co.zw
Zimnat Wins Award For First Time Exhibitor
The Zimnat Group, which exhibited this year at the Harare Agricultural Show for the first time, won the Best First Commercial Exhibit in Any Sector Award for its stand.
Its stand was judged the best from among more than 100 new entrants in this category. The entire Zimnat group, including its general insurance, life assurance and microfinance companies and the Funeral Services Group, was represented at the stand.
The stand was designed to be similar in its ambience and customer service to any Zimnat branch. Visitors to the stand were able to make general enquiries, sign up for an insurance policy or alter an existing policy, in the same way as they could at any Zimnat branch.
There were branded gifts for those who signed up for any Zimnat policy and for those who referred them to Zimnat. There were also instant pop-a-balloon prizes. There was a daily quiz at the stand, with prizes for correct answers.
Visitors to the stand also had an opportunity to discuss with Zimnat financial advisors investment options and plans for their financial future.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa presented Zimnat with a trophy and certificate at the prize giving ceremony in Glamis Arena.
“We are delighted that on the first occasion we exhibited at the Harare Agricultural Show, our stand should be judged the best first time commercial exhibit in any sector,” commented Zimnat Group Marketing Executive Angela Mpala.
She said the show provided Zimnat with an opportunity to increase awareness of the various products and services it offered.
“The interest shown in our policies and in the financial services we offer was gratifying. It enabled us to demonstrate how we can make people’s lives better,” she said.
Zimnat Provides Micro Finance
Zimnat prides itself on being a provider of simple yet very necessary solutions to its clients. For instance, we believe that one of our client’s biggest values is education so we set out to ensure this need is met.
It is no secret that a good education has the power to make life better. Today’s society is investing more than ever in educating its families, eager for them to compete in the global workforce.
Zimnat recently refreshed its brand to reflect its new ethos that is based on a united financial group, backed and endorsed by Sanlam, and a new brand promise of “making life better”. The new brand talks of an organisation with access to world-class technical expertise, stability and security. As such, Zimnat has become an all-encompassing financial group with expertise across the board, ranging from short-term insurance and life insurance to asset management and micro finance.
The Microfinance Division provides funding to civil servants and employees of corporate companies in the form of consumer loans that may be used to pay school fees, cover medical or emergency bills or pay for home improvements.
With Zimnat, you are guaranteed an efficient turnaround time without any hassles, enabling you to obtain a loan just in time for the beginning of the term to avoid your child being turned away and losing precious learning time. With your authorisation, we can pay directly to the school account and avail the proof of payment. Zimnat wants to ensure children start and finish their education in a fulfilling way. It wants to provide financial solutions for economically active entrepreneurs and employees, thus helping to drive development that improves the livelihoods of the country’s people.
Zimnat has a wide range of financial products to choose from. Our consumer loans stretch up to $5 000 at very lucrative interest rates. We recently launched a micro housing product for all those who are building. Our housing loans stretch up to a tenure of three years, with a loan amount of up to $30 000. So not only can we facilitate your children’s education, but we can also help you build easily.
We also offer working capital loans for all those entrepreneurs with vibrant businesses. Do not struggle with your business. Instead diversify and grow your business as we also have additional capital packages for manufacturing or retail businesses. Zimnat is your one stop shop for all your financial solutions.
By Praise Rundofa
For more details send an email to customercare@zimnat.co.zw or call us on +263 24 77582/3/5/6
Zimnat Exhibits At Harare Agricultural Show For First Time
Zimnat is marking its inaugural participation in the Harare Agricultural Show by providing visitors to the show with the opportunity to sign up for an insurance policy and to win branded Zimnat prizes in a variety of ways.
Its stand is similar to any of its offices both in ambience and in the service offered to customers. Visitors to the stand can make general enquiries, sign up for an insurance policy or alter an existing policy, in the same way as they could at any Zimnat branch.
Those who sign up for any of Zimnat’s policies will walk away with a branded gift. Those who refer friends and relatives to Zimnat to sign up for a policy will stand a chance of winning a prize.
There is also a pop a balloon opportunity to win an instant prize. There are balloons at the stand within which there is a paper with the name of a prize written on it. All a person has to do to win one of these instant prizes is to visit the Zimnat stand, refer a client and pop a balloon.
There will also be a quiz at the stand every day during the show at 4pm, with a prize for every correct answer.
Visitors to the stand will have an opportunity to meet Zimat financial advisors to discuss various investment options and seek advice on how to plan for their future financially.
In addition to insurance and life assurance, Zimnat offers financial services and asset management.
The Zimnat Group is comprised of Zimnat Life Assurance, Zimnat General Insurance, Zimnat Financial Services, Zimnat Asset Management and the recently launched Funeral Services Group, which is underwritten by Zimnat Life Assurance.
The group is associated with Sanlam, one of the largest financial services groups in South Africa and the biggest non-banking financial services group in Africa.
Commenting on why Zimnat had decided for the first time to exhibit at the show, Zimnat Group marketing executive Angela Mpala said its participation had been inspired by a desire to provide those attending the show with information about and access to its policies and services.
“Zimnat is committed to providing its customers and potential customers with convenience and service excellence wherever they are. We would like, therefore, to offer our customers the convenience of being able to do their business with us while they are at the show.
“We believe the products and services we offer can make people’s lives better. We are eager, therefore, to give visitors to the show the opportunity to enquire what we have to offer them and how the policies and services we offer can improve their lives,” she said.
Zimnat Rewards Students Who Participated In Hackathon
Zimnat, one of the country’s leading insurance groups, yesterday rewarded students from the Harare Institute of Technology who took part in a hackathon that the company organised.
A hackathon is a competitive event where people work collaboratively in groups on software or even hardware projects with the aim of creating a functioning product by the end of the event.
Twelve students from the institute’s Electronic Commerce and Financial Engineering departments took part in the event, competing in four teams.
Zimnat Group chief executive Mustafa Sachak presented the winning team, which was comprised of John Sakala, Amen Mushanyuki and Philip Mashingaidze, with shields and prize money of $400 per person.
The team that came second, made up of of Itai Zulu, Susan Chikerema and Augustine Mukumba, was presented with prize money of $200 per person.
Members of the third placed team were each given $100, while those in the fourth placed team each received $50.
Speaking at the award ceremony, Mr Sachak said Zimnat was excited and inspired by the calibre of presentations from the Harare Institute of Technology students. He said he was confident there would be further opportunities for collaboration between Zimnat and the institute.
The hackathon was convened by the Zimnat Group, which is comprised of Zimnat Life Assurance, Zimnat General Insurance, Zimnat Microfinance and Zimnat Asset Management, in partnership with the Harare Institute of Technology School of Business and Management Sciences.
School of Business and Management Sciences Dean Willard Gwarimbo expressed his commitment to a continued partnership with Zimnat, which, he said, ultimately aimed to strengthen the economy and nation at large.
When The Unexpected Happens…
The topic on financial protection against uncertainties through life insurance in the event of death often makes people uncomfortable. However, it is not an unpleasant conversation after all, it is actually a worthwhile topic that you will live to smile about. With life insurance from Zimnat, you can stop worrying and start enjoying cover. Simply put, life insurance is the exchange of a relatively small payment of money each month for a larger amount of benefit pay out in the event of death.
You will either live to work and grow old or die young or mature, working and with a family to support. Imagine in a family where everyone’s livelihood depends on your income, the moment that the income ceases everything will crumble. Income ceases because either you have grown too old to continue working or you die. In the event of death, life cannot be replaced but having life insurance will help your family pay for education and providing any other financial security. There is still life after you and you can help maintain it.
Cover From Debt After Death
Dealing with debt during grieving would really be the worst experience for your family. Death cannot be controlled, instead of worrying about what your family will do with your debt, you can get life insurance to cover debt which can affect your family. If you die with unpaid debt, your survivors are at the risk of being on the hook for all of your debt or part of it. This can happen if you are a co-signatory on a loan such as a mortgage.
Others may argue that in the event that a person does not die and they finish paying off the debt, it may seem like all those payments were for nothing. However, that is not the case. You were actually paying for protection in the event that you die, something which is unpredictable and you cannot for tell. It is essential to know that you will be paying for peace of mind that comes with knowing that you can take care of your family from beyond the grave in the same way that you would have been if you were alive and that surely is priceless.
It is pleasing to note that no matter your income, life insurance with Zimnat is affordable to fit any budget. And remember the catch is that in life insurance you will only pay a small amount for a bigger benefit. Often the young and single people think that life insurance is not for them when in actual fact it is for them too. The difference probably lies in the amount of responsibilities that you have and the cover needed may not be as much but still you need it and you need to be prepared for when those circumstances change. Buying life insurance at a younger and healthier age lowers the price and on a lighter note if you have a bigger heart you can always channel your benefits to other people around you like your parents, siblings and extended family. It does not need to be about your spouse and children only.
Does My Spouse Need Life Insurance Too?
Another misconception is that if a spouse has life insurance, the other spouse does not need it. In actual fact, it is best for both spouses to have it especially where they have children. The loss of one spouse’s income is a financial setback to the family. Life insurance pay-out will cushion the setback.
Formally employed people who have life insurance coverage through their employers need to remember that it is not enough as it is affected by loss of employment and job hopping. It is therefore advisable to get additional cover in the form of an individual policy.
With Zimnat, you get the right package that will satisfy your needs and is definitely affordable. Even if you are not physically there for your family or business, life still goes on and dreams can still live. Nothing can beat the peace of mind that comes with knowing that. Parting advice; stop worrying about financial obligations for when you are not there, simply get life insurance.
Written by Rufaro Vambe (Customer Care Supervisor for Zimnat Life Assurance)