Zimnat Launches Zimbabwe’s First Health & Claims Barometer
MEDIA RELEASE: Zimnat launches Zimbabwe’s first insurer-led Health & Claims Barometer
ISSUED BY ZIMNAT GROUP | SEPTEMBER 2026 | HARARE, ZIMBABWE
We are pleased to announce the launch of the Inaugural Zimnat LifeCheck Health & Claims Barometer, making Zimnat the first insurer in Zimbabwe to publish a dedicated Barometer based on its own claims experience.
The launch forms part of our 80th-anniversary programme and reflects the kind of organisation we are becoming: more open, more insight-led and more useful to the people we serve.
Covering April 2025 to March 2026, the inaugural Barometer analyses 1,103 paid Employee Benefits and Individual Life claims, valued at USD 3.20 million and ZWG 18.26 million. It also records 2,709 cashback benefit payments and 2,154 refunds.
But LifeCheck is not simply a report on what we paid.
It is about what the claims are telling us and what Zimbabweans can do with those lessons.
| “For 80 years, Zimnat has been present when life changed unexpectedly. LifeCheck allows us to use that experience differently: by opening the evidence, sharing what the claims have taught us and encouraging people to act before illness or loss becomes urgent.”
Workmore Chimweta – Zimnat Life Assurance Managing Director |
Health signals that demand earlier attention
The Barometer identifies cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes or metabolic conditions as prominent health signals within the leading condition groups highlighted in the report.
Cardiovascular disease appeared most frequently, with 310 claims and approximately USD 868,900 paid. Cancer appeared in 176 claims but carried approximately USD 915,400 in the USD portfolio. The figures demonstrate that the condition appearing most often is not always the one carrying the greatest financial severity.
Together, cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes or metabolic conditions accounted for 550 of the 748 claims across the five leading condition groups highlighted. The figure describes Zimnat’s insured portfolio and must not be interpreted as national disease prevalence.
We are using these findings to encourage screening, earlier professional attention, treatment continuity and stronger workplace wellness support. The campaign does not suggest that every illness is preventable or that individuals should be blamed for becoming ill.
A life is priceless. The financial gap left behind is not
The Barometer also shows that serious illness and death can create a financial shock that extends far beyond the person named on a policy.
High-value claim payments should not be read as prices placed on individual lives. No payout can replace a person. The value paid reflects the protection arranged around that person’s insured benefit, income and responsibilities.
The more important question is what may happen to a household when income or care disappears and no insurance is available. School fees, housing costs, debt, healthcare, food, transport, support for parents and business commitments do not stop simply because the person funding them is no longer able to do so.
Insurance cannot remove grief. It can help prevent grief from being followed immediately by interrupted education, the loss of a home, distress borrowing or the forced sale of productive assets.
| “A claim may sit in one name, but the responsibilities behind it are often shared by an entire family. The question every breadwinner should ask is whether the people who depend on them would inherit protection or financial pressure.”
Tatenda Marongwe- Zimnat Group Marketing Executive |
A new transparency benchmark
The LifeCheck Barometer is intended to make insurance value easier to see and understand. It shows insurance moving from promise to outcome while clearly explaining the scope and limits of the data whilst also preserving the confidentiality and anonymity of the parties involved.
As we celebrate 80 years, we believe longevity must be matched by relevance.
For us, that means becoming clearer, more transparent and more useful to our customers, families, employers and communities. We also hope LifeCheck encourages a wider culture of openness and evidence-led discussion across Zimbabwe’s insurance industry.
Download the LifeCheck Barometer by clicking here
Complete Your LifeCheck
We are encouraging Zimbabweans to take three simple steps:
Know your health
Understand when your key health checks were last completed and seek professional guidance where needed.
Know who depends on you
Identify the people and responsibilities that would be affected if your income or care stopped.
Know your protection
Understand your benefits, confirm your beneficiaries and keep important policy information accessible.
The full LifeCheck Health & Claims Barometer 2025 will be available through the Zimnat website, supported by health, financial-wellness and insurance-education content throughout the campaign.
Media Enquiries Can be directed in writing to the following contact
Zimnat Group Communications Office
Email: marketing@zimnat.co.zw
Health note: Campaign information is for general education and does not replace assessment, diagnosis or treatment by a qualified healthcare professional.
Sanlam Private Wealth and Zimnat Asset Management Launch Zimnat Wealth International
Zimnat Asset Management has partnered with Sanlam Private Wealth to provide offshore investment capability This opportunity is not limited to individual investors only but also to Pension Funds and Corporates.
Zimnat Asset Management’s unique collaboration with Sanlam Private Wealth seeks to introduce global investment products and solutions to Zimbabwean investors with a view to earning attractive, sustainable, and safe returns on their investments over the long term.
This association enables investors to have access to a platform of leading globally accredited investment funds that cover a diverse range of asset classes. These include 5 Star Morningstar rated Mutual Funds, Exchange Traded Funds, Hedge Funds, Fixed Income Securities, and Capital Guaranteed Structured Products. Sanlam Private Wealth prides itself on its expertise in creating an individually customized investment portfolio that takes into account the purpose and risk appetite of each client
Commenting on the side-lines of the launch event, Sanlam Private Wealth Managing Director Mr. Mark Muller said, “We are excited to be expanding our relationship with the Zimnat Group, this partnership will open global opportunities for clients who have been yearning to explore investing on the global market.”
Sanlam Private Wealth is a member of the Sanlam Group, a leading global financial services business that has been advising investors globally since 1918. The Group provides comprehensive and tailored financial solutions to individual and institutional clients. The group’s ultimate holding company is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange as well as the Namibian Stock Exchange, with a USD10 billion market cap and USD104 billion asset under management.
The minimum investment amount is USD50k.
Speaking at the launch event held at The Venue Avondale, Zimnat Investments Cluster CEO, Mrs. Elizabeth Rabvukwa, said, “This is a great opportunity for Zimbabwean investors who have free funds and are willing to explore investing in global markets. The relationship between Zimnat Asset Management and Sanlam Private Wealth will provide a secure and safe gateway to invest in offshore markets as Sanlam has been in existence for more than 100 years and Zimnat has also been in existence for more than 75 years”
The Zimnat Group has four main business units, namely general insurance, life assurance, asset management, and microfinance. The group is driven by its mission to make life better. It is associated with the Sanlam Group, the largest non-banking financial institution on the continent.
Kwedu/Ngekhaya funeral plan for Zimbabweans in the diaspora
Zimnat Life Assurance has introduced Kwedu/Ngekhaya, a funeral plan for Zimbabweans living in the diaspora. The plan pays out up to USD60 000 for a family of six for those in countries such as the United Kingdom, United States of America, Australia, Canada and others. It pays to ZAR210 000 for those in Southern Africa.
For a premium of USD23.50 per month, a husband, wife and four children in United Kingdom, United States of America, Australia and Canada are each covered for USD10 000, meaning altogether the benefit is USD60 000. In the event of death, the funds are paid out to ensure funeral, repatriation costs and all services are covered. For those in Southern Africa, for a premium of ZAR189 per month, a husband, wife and four children are each covered for ZAR35 000, with the total benefit being ZAR210 000 which in the event of death, will also be paid out to cater for funeral and travel expenses.
Why do you need this Plan?
An estimated 3 million Zimbabweans are living in the diaspora and many struggle to fund for repatriation and funeral expenses in the event of death and end up resorting to donations and crowd funding for that final journey back home. Zimnat; whose purpose is to make life better, realised the hustle and difficulty that people go through to fund for repatriation, with some resorting to ‘Go fund me’ crowd funding to raise funds. There was also a need to extend the purpose of making life better for all Zimbabweans regardless of where they are in the world, hence the introduction of Kwedu/Ngekhaya.
The plan will enable Zimbabweans abroad to get a solution that gives them peace of mind knowing that they are guaranteed of that final journey back home, where their roots lie and that their family back home is guaranteed of a befitting send off in the event of death.
Kwedu/Ngekhaya Plan Pricing
The minimum cover per person is USD2500 whilst the maximum is USD20 000 and customers are free to choose a cover that meets their needs within the available ranges. For an additional charge, one can add parents and other extended family members.
Premiums for Kwedu/Ngekhaya are payable monthly, quarterly or on an annual basis. The plan also has an option for vigil and tombstone cover, does not have any waiting period in the event of accidental death and no medicals are required to sign up.
The policy can be applied for, online through Zimnat’s self-help web portal, selfcare.zimnat.co.zw. On the same platform, locals in Zimbabwe can also refer friends and family to sign up for Kwedu/Ngekhaya.
Zimnat Life Assurance is part of the Zimnat Group comprising of Zimnat General Insurance, Zimnat Asset Management and Zimnat Microfinance. The group is associated with Sanlam South Africa, the largest non-banking financial services group on the continent. The group is driven by a purpose to make life better.
Mobile agricultural laboratory brings technology to the field
The AgriShow held at Borrowdale Racecourse from Thursday last week until Saturday was an eye opener for those who attended it for the first time, with an impressive exhibition of agricultural equipment, much of which was large modern sophisticated machinery.
The show, held by the Agricultural Dealers and Manufacturers Association (ADMA), attracted not only manufacturers of and dealers in farming equipment but many other companies that offer products and services to the agricultural sector.
Among the large exhibits was a 20 metre 30 tonne mobile agricultural laboratory designed to provide agricultural laboratory services in rural areas. The impressive laboratory was stationed at the Zimnat/THI Insurance stand.
The two companies showcased the mobile laboratory, in partnership with Santam Agriculture, a subsidiary of Sanlam, a South African company with which Zimnat is associated.
The laboratory is well equipped. All the equipment, apart from air conditioners, is run with solar power.
The laboratory truck includes a training room, which can be used for training groups of farmers and to introduce agriculture science to youths in remote areas. If the group is too large for the training room, those outside the truck can follow proceedings in the training room on two high definition televisions screens.
One of the main purposes of the mobile laboratory is to enable farmers to have soil and water tests done close to where they are, so they do not have to travel long distances to have such samples analysed. An analysis of soil samples is important for deciding on what fertiliser to use.
Zimnat General Insurance chief executive officer Stanley Mazorodze says the laboratory is intended not only to enable emerging farming businesses to do soil and water analysis but also to introduce technology to rural schoolchildren.
“The mobile laboratory enables us to bring appropriate technology to the field where it is needed most,” he said.
The Zimnat/THI stand had a rural feel to it, with bales of straw being used as seats. The two companies highlighted the agricultural insurance they offer and the benefits to be derived from the joint expertise and resources of Zimnat, Sanlam Agriculture and THI.
“THI, Zimnat and Santam Agriculture together have the resources to respond effectively to the changing insurance needs of Zimbabwean farmers and their upstream and downstream service suppliers,” Mr Mazorodze said.
There are many risks that farmers face, including variations in the weather and pest infestations that require good agricultural insurance policies, he pointed out.
Zimnat made use of its presence at the AgriShow to highlight other insurance policies that Zimnat offers, such as vehicle insurance, export credit insurance and life assurance, and the financial and asset management services provided by Zimnat Financial Services.
Zimnat Launches Another Innovative Billboard Campaign
Motorists driving towards Harare’s city centre along Borrowdale Road are likely to be surprised to see just before the racecourse what appears to be boulders falling from a container on a billboard and a car beneath the billboard that appears to have collided with them.
This is Zimnat’s latest innovative billboard advert intended to illustrate how unexpected accidents can occur, the implication being that it is wise to be insured against accidents.
“Whatever life delivers, Zimnat makes it better,” is the message displayed on the billboard. The message here is that whatever life throws at one, Zimnat can make the situation better.
The 3D advert which includes a realistic looking container and a real wrecked car at the foot of the billboard, makes the scene that is portrayed of a car colliding with falling boulders look realistic. This makes the advert dramatic and unique.
The launch of the company’s latest billboard campaign comes exactly a year after the group made headlines with its 2018 billboard campaign, which included a real car apparently embedded in a wall in the city centre. Last year’s billboard campaign won the group an award for the Best Outdoor Advert of the Year at the Marketer’s Association of Zimbabwe Exceptional Marketing Awards.
The rest of the group’s billboards throughout the country have been revamped to communicate the new theme of how Zimnat makes life better for its customers. The messaging on the billboards covers all Zimnat’s business units, which include general insurance, life insurance, asset management and micro finance.
Zimnat is associated with Sanlam, the largest non-banking financial institution on the continent (Africa). The company offers businesses and individuals a variety of products including motor insurance, home insurance, life assurance, travel insurance, funeral cover, health and accident insurance, pension schemes, unit trusts and private wealth management.
THI, Zimnat Announce Underwriting Management Agency Agreement
THI Insurance has entered into an underwriting management agency agreement with Zimnat General Insurance that will result in THI being underwritten by Zimnat, in conjunction with Santam Agriculture, through Zimnat’s shareholder partnership with Sanlam, the largest non-banking financial institution on the African Continent.
The agreement, which came into effect on January 1, 2019, will enable Zimnat to leverage off THI’s agricultural insurance heritage and expertise, whilst THI will ultimately become part of the much larger Zimnat/Sanlam Insurance Group.
“THI has an 80 year heritage of agricultural insurance expertise, a market presence and brand reputation that will give Zimnat and Santam Agriculture immediate access to a sector of the insurance market that has pledged to assist in the resurgence of agriculture within the Zimbabwe economy,” explained Zimnat Group chief executive Mustafa Sachak.
“Agriculture requires a completely different approach to designing insurance products that respond to the changing needs of the Zimbabwe farmer and their upstream and downstream service suppliers. THI, Zimnat and Santam Agriculture have the resources and determination to respond to this demand.”
“In return, THI will ultimately become part of a much larger insurance group with Zimnat’s A security rating for writing business and the international backing of the Sanlam/Santam group which has a triple A rating.
“Santam Agriculture, a specialist division of Sanlam, has developed technical assistance and state-of-the art agricultural insurance services, using worldwide and regional research, backed by leading international reinsurers.
“All these resources will be made available to assist in developing unique risk management and transfer solutions that the Zimbabwe insurance market can offer to its clients,” he said.
“This powerful combination of experience, skills, resources, security and brand heritage will bring significant competitive advantage to THI and Zimnat and this will translate into better service and enhanced product offerings to our broker and client relationships,” said Stanley Mazorodze, the Zimnat General Insurance managing director.
“This is a really exciting development for the Zimbabwe insurance industry and will prove to be of immense benefit to the economy at large and more specifically the agricultural sector.
“We look forward to rolling it out over the next few months and adding more value to our relationships with brokers, clients and all elements of the agricultural industry chain” he said.
Visit the links below for further reading:
http://insurance24.co.zw/thi-zimnat-announce-underwriting-management-agency-agreement-news-release/
https://www.dandaro.co.zw/thi-zimnat-announce-underwriting-management-agency-agreement/
http://insidebusiness.co.zw/thi-zimnat-agree-underwriting-management-agency-deal/
https://bulawayo24.com/index-id-business-sc-companies-byo-156683.html