Author: Sauli Giliard
AfricaPress-Tanzania: The insurance sector set to write more premiums this year than last year, thanks to a strategy to allow banks to also offer covers.
The sector gross income stood at 433.3bn/- in the first half of this year compared to 813.8bn/- of the entire last year.
The trend is tipped to increase in the second half since the nation seems to be out of Covid-19 danger.
Tanzania Insurance Regulatory Authority (TIRA) Commissioner for Insurance, Dr Mussa Juma, said based on current figures the regulator was optimistic that this year’s revenue would surpass last year’s gross income.
Speaking at a TIRA Council of Workers’ Union meeting in Dar es Salaam on Thursday, Dr Juma said the regulator was determined to increase insurance penetration, especially in the agricultural sector and marginalised groups in rural areas were the main target.
According to the TIRA boss, current insurance penetration stands at only 15 per cent as the country targets to reach at least 50 per cent of Tanzanians by 2030.
In attaining the objectives, the commissioner said TIRA was implementing various strategies including, but not limited to, “allowing banks to provide insurance services and activating TIRA MIS system to control revenue loss.”
He revealed that the insurance sector database, which will enable TIRA to get accuracy information for planning and decision making, was in the offing.
While the insurance sector is expected to contribute 3 per cent of GDP by 2030, the TIRA czar said financial constraint had adversely affected a TIRA plan to implement development projects.
He added that “due to this financial challenge, TIRA has failed to recruit more staff.”
Ministry of Finance and Planning Assistant Director at the Department of Planning Theresia Henjewele said if the insurance sector in the country was in a position to contribute 3 per cent of GDP, there would be a positive trickle-down effect especially in agricultural products.
“You will agree that dwarfism of this sector is a result of poor public participation in insurance activities since most of us are less knowledgeable about insurance issues,” she insisted.
Ms Henjewele, who represented Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and Planning Dotto James, directed the TIRA management and staff to invest in public awareness programmes as the country eyed to reach more people.
She reminded the TIRA management that performance of its workers was subject to motivation and insisted that the welfare of staff must be improved and protected.
