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Features Correspondent

Covid-19 has decimated economies leaving people with little or no money to spend on basic essentials like food, health and funeral insurance among others.

With prolonged lockdowns in many countries around the globe as a way of managing the pandemic, some people lost jobs, others had salary cuts, companies stopped hiring as business was affected.

With the economic strain being felt around the world, Zimbabwe, too, has not been spared with people’s incomes being affected by the Covid-19 impact.

For others, opting out of medical and funeral cover, as a way to cushion their earnings was the only solution as some service providers continued to hike premiums since 2019.

While others hiked fees, integrated financial services Group, Nyaradzo, continued to charge 2019 rates. This, the group said was a way to cushion Zimbabweans at a time Covid-19 was affecting many families.

Last week, Nyaradzo Group finally approved an almost 300 percent premium increase in their funeral services division after more than two years since the last hikes.

The group last increased tariffs in October 2019 despite the fact that inflation rose to a high of 837 percent over the period on the back of a multiplicity of volatilities in the market.

Under the premium schedule, clients who were paying around $853 which had now gone down to an equivalent of US$7,61 on the official markets and US$4,26 using the parallel market rate will now be paying $3 407 for the same policy which is equivalent to about US$15 per month.

Nyaradzo chief executive officer, Phillip Mataranyika said the company had reached a point where the obtaining tariffs have become unsustainable.

“We have been absorbing the costs since then and we can’t continue operating as if the premiums are stagnant against rising expenses. The company has endured unbudgeted costs in the last few years of Covid19 difficult times,” he said.

He said the obtaining economic environment over the recent past years has not been conducive to introducing new products as consumers are focusing more on basic survival needs.

The Nyaradzo boss said the group’s strategy of balancing affordability and high quality service over the years has managed to curb premium default rates and seen a surging clientele base.

“We remain committed to providing our clients with the usual top notch service which they have known us for over the years,” added Mataranyika.

Driven by a heart for quality service, Nyaradzo Group has become a prominent part of the Zimbabwean business landscape and social life at large.

The company’s mandate is to provide relevant insurance, risk and events management solutions that are in line with African traditions, the group is comprised of Nyaradzo Life Assurance Company, Nyaradzo Funeral Services, Calundike Exports, Asset Management, Eureka Insurance Brokers and Sahwira Events and Lifestyle. Additional reporting Humanitarian Post