(TIMES) State to cement insurance industry

State to cement insurance industry
By Business Reporter

THE Government is in the process of finalising institutional investment guidelines to provide benchmarks in the local insurance industry, Pensions and Insurance Authority (PIA) registrar, Chris Mapipo has said.

Mr Mapipo said the fact that the Government had included the social protection and social security chapters in the Fifth National Development Plan was testimony to the importance that it attached to the industry.

He said during the launch of the Pension Bridge Magazine in Lusaka at the weekend that the schemes were positively contributing to the development of the financial and capital markets.

“The Government has also allocated some slots for the association to be represented on a number of boards, such as the Pensions and Insurance Authority board,” Mr Mapipo said.

Speaking at the same function, Zambia Association of Pension Fund Managers (ZAPFM) president, Charles Mpundu said increasing competition in the pensions and insurance industry should be encouraged to grow because it was leading to improved service delivery and increased returns on investments.

Mr Mpundu said the competition had led to better service delivery mechanisms and a call for improvements in benefits levels.

He said there had been improved regulatory input by the Government, through the PIA, which had helped to wipe out the negative image about the sector.

Mr Mpundu said that investment management skills in the industry had improved, resulting in better returns being earned on pension savings.

The pension fund management institutions had also been very active in the capital market, as they have been leading in equity investments in the stocks of the listed companies on the Lusaka Stock Exchange.

“The various pension schemes, as contractual savings, continue to play a significant role in the development of the capital markets,” he said.

Mr Mpundu said the assets under the various fund managements and administrators had increased significantly over the year, and stood at K1.8 trillion in 2008, excluding the funds under the National Pension Scheme Authority.

Those successes notwithstanding, the pensions industry continued to face various challenges especially relating to late settlement of pension benefits to the beneficiaries and the fact that many pensioners receive very little returns to sustain their livelihood.

He said the Government would do well to provide incentives, especially those relating to taxation, in order to see more enthusiasm in the pension industry.

“Thus, the bad image of the past is really changing, especially if Government provides the tax and other incentives that the industry has been crying for,” Mr Mpundu said.

On the launch of the magazine, he said it had been the wish of the pension fund managers to provide more information to different clients and the general public, and the pension bridge would provide insightful updates to all the stakeholders.