TelOne launches virtual insurance platform
STATE-owned fixed telephone service provider TelOne yesterday launched a virtual insurance platform, Insure-Me, which it says could boost its revenue streams by 8% in the first year.
Through the facility, TelOne will provide insurance companies with a platform to sell insurance products for commission.
So far, it has on-boarded short-term insurers and three life funeral players. The short-term insurers are Old Mutual, Zimnat Lion, Nicoz Diamond, Champions, Sanctuary, Credsure, FBC Insurance and AFC Insurance. The platform currently caters for motor insurance providers only, but plans are afoot to add other providers in health, funeral assurance, life assurance, travel and property insurance.
Launching the platform in Harare, TelOne chief operating officer Lawrence Nkala said the Insure-Me platform would provide insurance companies with a market space to sell their products.
“Insure-Me as a product is borne out of a meticulous two-and-half-year journey of learning and development where TelOne has already been distributing motor vehicle-based insurance products through its outlets countrywide,” he said.
Nkala said the virtual platform would contribute to improving the reach of insurance products and revenue growth.
“The 2021 Ipec (Insurance and Pension Commission) insurance report indicates that the insurance sector wrote gross premiums amounting to $49,19 billion during the year ended December 31, 2021, indicating an increase of 165% from $18,56 billion for the year ended December 2020,” he said.
“It will, therefore, be key for us to see how this development will impact these numbers come the end of 2023.”
Nkala added that building on these statistics, the Insure-Me facility would be a game-changer for insurers as it is likely to increase their customer reach by about 12% within the first year across all segments while boosting TelOne’s revenue by about 8%.
He said in 2021, the telco was able to generate $10,5 million from such value-added service revenue streams.
“We are confident that our entry into the insurance space will give us a significant jump going forward,” Nkala said.
“It is only through such innovation and our ability to forge such partnerships that we are able to remain relevant and competitive in this age of cut-throat competition.”
Speaking on behalf of the insurance companies which will use the virtual platform, Old Mutual managing director Gloria Zvaravanhu said the launch of the Insure-Me platform would increase the company’s market outreach and boost its operations.
“We are so excited and happy to have this product. I really want to congratulate TelOne for the Insure-Me platform and all the work that has gone into it,” she said.
“When we have a platform such as this, which allows us to reach out to more customers, we more than welcome it.”
In August, TelOne launched the TelOne Crop Monitoring Platform, a product which provides remote farm management. It has also launched a vehicle fleet management system, TelTrack.-newsday
