ICZ launches insurance competition for schools

RURAL secondary schools nationwide will have a chance to participate in the shortterm insurance awareness essay competition, which the Insurance Council of Zimbabwe (ICZ) will run in partnership with the Primary and Secondary Education ministry.

The competition is aimed at educating and raising awareness on the use and benefits of insurance.

On behalf of the short-term insurance sector, ICZ’s objective is to empower the country’s young population with insurance knowledge and appreciation of benefits.

The rural students are part of the approximately 60% of Zimbabwe’s rural population that depends on agricultural activities from subsistence to commercial level.

The country’s economy continues to be agro-based, providing about 70% of the manufacturing industry’s raw materials.

“The students will grow up and contribute to the national economy with the use and benefits of insurance inculcated in them as a security tool that will protect their agricultural activities as well as ensure continuity of activities in the event an insured disaster occurs,” ICZ said.

The competition is running concurrently with ICZ’s agriculture insurance awareness campaign on its digital and social media platforms.

The campaign has opened direct interaction with farmers providing necessary information and assistance on challenges faced in successfully lodging claims with insurers.

ICZ has identified schoolchildren as another valuable channel for information dissemination to their parents who earn a living through farming, hence the competition will raise insurance awareness among rural communities.

Successful students stand to win textbooks worth US$10 000 for their schools and US$4 000 for rural primary schools of their choice.

The competition will alleviate the shortage of textbooks in six rural schools as well as provide school fees to 13 students across the country.

This competition is also part of the ICZ’s corporate social responsibility activities that seek to empower communities through initiatives that leave a long-term footprint and contributes to national developmental programmes.

In line with its objective, ICZ reconstructed Rutengeni Primary and Secondary schools in Chipinge that were destroyed during the Cyclone Idai disaster.

The schools benefited from the construction of four classrooms, two ablution blocks and an administration block.