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Natasha Chamba, Business Reporter 

BOGUS funeral assurers are on the prowl across the country with about eight entities operating without required licensing in Bulawayo alone, the Insurance and Pensions Commission (IPEC) has said.

The Insurance Act requires that all funeral assurers in the country must be registered with IPEC. 

Speaking during a recent pensions and insurance workshop in Bulawayo, IPEC public relations manager, Mr Lloyd Gumbo, said only one funeral assurer headquartered in Bulawayo was registered.

“When you buy insurance policies, deal with registered entities only to avoid being prejudiced by bogus entities. 

“For instance, we have a problem of bogus funeral assurers here in Bulawayo, about eight of them who are operating illegally,” said Mr Gumbo. 

“To confirm whether the company that you want to buy the policy from is registered, request for their IPEC registration certificate. You can also check on our website where we put the list of all the registered companies and contact us so that we confirm if the company is registered.”

Mr Gumbo said the regulator had engaged the bogus funeral companies and advised them about how they could regularise their registration but none of them have complied although a few of them made some enquiries.

He said IPEC had since engaged law enforcement agents on the matter and warned such operations risk being closed.

“We have been receiving complaints from people who bought funeral policies from some of these bogus funeral assurance companies but cannot locate them anymore. 

“However, if you deal with the companies that we registered and you feel they have unfairly treated you, you can approach us for recourse because these are our regulated entities but if you buy policies from the bogus ones, we may not even know their whereabouts,” said Mr Gumbo.

“As part of our mandate to protect the interests of policy holders, we have since engaged law enforcement agents to help us restore order in the industry. 

“We do not want bogus companies to collect money from unsuspecting people and prejudice them at the end of the day.”

Some of the companies offering funeral cover products in Bulawayo and parts of Matabeleland include — Earth to Heaven Funerals (Pvt) Ltd t/a Kingdom Blue Funeral Services, Holland Funerals, Falakhe Funeral Parlour, Runyaradzo Funeral Services, Exodus Funeral Services, African Pride Funerals, Regional Funerals, Kings and Queens. IPEC said these entities were not registered.

The list of registered funeral assurance companies on the IPEC website include; Cell Funeral Assurance, Doves Funeral Assurance, First Funeral Assurance, Foundation Mutual Society Assurance, Moonlight Funeral Assurance and Services, Passion Funeral Assurance, Ruvimbo Funeral Assurance, Sunset and Vineyard Funeral Assurance.

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