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The AFC Insurance Company has now accelerated the provision of various short-term insurance products through a rapid expansion strategy across the country. The recently licensed entity has already made significant headway towards ensuring that insurance cover is made available to millions of households across the country, with a deliberate focus on agriculture insurance, in a move that is set to change the face of agriculture insurance in Zimbabwe and across Africa.
Being part of the AFC Group of companies, which was mandated to transform agriculture in the country, AFC Insurance company comes in as a key agent to drive the financial inclusion agenda. The AFC Group of companies provides unparalleled convenience as a one-stop shop that offers cutting-edge financial services and innovative mechanisation solutions across the agricultural value chain.
Among other products that will be offered by the AFC Insurance Company are indexed crop insurance products for different crops and agricultural regions, infrastructure development insurance for dam construction, irrigation, and other developmental projects. Traditional products like motor vehicle insurance and fire/property insurance are also being offered to complement the suite of products and offer a full bouquet.
“Group synergies remain central in the execution of our insurance strategy. With the AFC Commercial Bank, AFC Land and Development Bank, and the AFC Leasing Company as part of the AFC family, our insurance business is set to offer unparalleled service under one roof. We continue to ensure that we leave no one and no place behind in line with our mandate to transform agriculture and drive financial inclusion across the country”, said AFC Holdings Group CEO Francis Macheka.
“AFC Insurance Company has been strategically positioned to ensure that no farmer goes uninsured during this summer cropping season and beyond in the event of a drought or crop failure farmers should not suffer. Livestock insurance has also remained neglected for the longest of time and we are now covering this as well” said Macheka.
Farmers across the country have welcomed this development as it now leaves farmers less exposed. “Insurance has always been perceived to be a product for the elite. Smallholder farmers in particular have always remained exposed whenever there is a drought or crop failure and we are now working very closely with the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development to ensure that this is thing of the past and drive Vision 2030 forward while ensuring food security”, continued Macheka.
Macheka advised that the AFC Insurance company was going beyond agriculture to cover other hazards such as property, theft, fire, and large infrastructure development projects which include major government projects.
“We have been in a pilot phase to test various insurance concepts and are now ready to serve the country”, concluded Macheka.
The operationalisation of the AFC Insurance Company signals a massive paradigm shift in driving financial inclusion in the economy.