LIBERTY LIFE OPEN GHETTO BRANCH
After operating solely in Gaborone for 13 years, Liberty Life Botswana finally ventured north last week, officially opening a branch in Francistown on Friday.
Located at the tip of Ghetto’s iconic Blue Jacket Street, in the Mangole-aLeswe-a-ga-victor building (opposite The Voice), the new office extends the insurer’s local footprint to two.
However, speaking at the opening ceremony, Liberty Life’s Managing Director, Joy Bonu, promised this was just the beginning.
“I am extremely excited, the team is elated, too. This is our first since inception; it is quite a significant milestone for us. Even though we have clients across the country, our long-term plan has been, and remains, to extend our geographic footprint and have physical presence in every town and village to serve our clients better,” stressed Bonu, adding setting-up an outpost in the second city had been on the agenda for a while.
“One thing that we picked up when interacting with our clients outside Gaborone, we noticed that there was a gap in the market for our policy members who are not in Gaborone. We learnt that without a physical office, they always struggle with payment of premiums or even submission of claims,” she admitted.
The company provides a broad range of services, such as: funeral, critical illness, life cover, group life assurance, credit life, investment products and a recently launched retirement product named ‘The Liberator’.
“We truly believe we are a one-stop-shop where individuals or groups can come and get expert advice from the professionals on what product will work better for them. One of our unique products is our retirement plan for retirees, The Liberator, which also happens to be a first-of-its-kind in the market and it is still the only one. Unlike an ordinary life [policy], The Liberator Living Annuity allows the annuitant to decide on their level of income on an annual basis so as to be in control of their ever-changing needs throughout retirement,” Buno explained.
All of the newly employed workers for the company are locals of Francistown and the neighbouring areas.
The offices currently have an Administrative Officer, an Investment Consultant and 15 Sales Agents available to help customers daily from 8-5pm.