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to offer free life insurance cover for the first time in the country. The insurance cover, called Ecolife, would be offered to more than 4,5 million Econet subscribers as part of an initiative to provide life insurance to those unable to get a policy due to high costs.

In a statement, the telecommunications company chief executive officer Mr Douglas Mboweni said the insurance cover would work like any other insurance policy.

“This works just like any insurance policy. Depending on the amount of cover the customer has, the more airtime you buy, the more cover you get and payments of a maximum of US$10 000 will be made. These payouts will be processed speedily via First Mutual Life,” he said.
Mr Mboweni said Ecolife would be sold as a US$3 monthly airtime package that will ensure free life cover.

“This means that the more airtime one buys, the more cover they get, up to a maximum payout of US$10 000,” said the Econet chief executive.
He said the scheme was not only free, but was also simple to access for the user.
“A person does not have to visit First Mutual Life offices to subscribe to ecolife.
“Everything can be done via a Short Message Service,” he said.

He said the insurance cover had been developed in partnership with Trustco Mobile, a division of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed Trustco Group Holdings, which is a Namibia-based financial services company.

Econet and First Mutual Life, a subsidiary of Afre Corporation, were also collaborating to launch other products, including auto insurance and drought cover for small-scale farmers.
He said the insurance product was one of the many services his telecommunication firm was developing to create convenience for its customers and help make life easier for Zimbabweans.