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| Business |
| Nico eases group policy requirements |
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by
Aubrey Mchulu, 07 April 2004
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19:01:38
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Nico Life Insurance Company Limited has removed requirements of medical examinations including HIV test on group cover schemes to give maximum benefits to individuals who demanded a waiver of the tests.
Nico Life general manager Stain Singo said in an interview on Wednesday through this move his company is taking an extra risk hence premiums will be slightly higher to cover the under-writing risk.
For example, Singo said, when individuals underwent medical examinations and were found with bad heart conditions, tuberculosis or HIV, their cover would be restricted to, say K2 million, but now with the waiver of medical tests they can get maximum benefits.
“But the good news is that most Malawians will now be getting maximum cover and give double benefits to their families [when they die] which will transcend to the national economy,” he said, adding diseases were not the only risk to longevity of life as many people also die in accidents.
Insurers including Singo have argued that the medical tests including HIV are not discriminatory as viewed in other quarters, saying as insurers they have to assess the underwriting risk and determine premium.
Before the new initiative, billed as the first of its kind on the Malawi life insurance market, Nico Life used to adjust free cover limits annually to give clients access to higher insurance covers, according to Singo.
While most companies were willing to pay for maximum benefits for their employees on the group scheme, Singo said, most individuals including some senior managers at Nico were afraid to go for medical tests.
Singo also said Nico Life, which has declared a 27.5 percent bonus for pensions, is also working on a waiver of medical tests for individuals buying policies but, he said, this will take time.
Nico Life Insurance Company, with the life insurance market share of about 50 percent, was borne out of a split of the then National Insurance Company (Nico) in December 2001 which also saw the birth of Nico General Insurance Company Limited under the holding company Nico Holdings Limited.
The reason behind the split was to ensure full concentration of core businesses and Nico Holdings Limited, listed as one entity on the Malawi Stock Exchange, has three other subsidiaries namely Nico Technologies Limited, New Building Society and Nico Insurance Zambia.
Singo said despite starting life insurance business later than its competitors in 1971, Nico is preferred by most corporate and individual clients because it has flexible terms, reviews free cover limits frequently, has issued service standards and decisions are instantly made locally.
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