IPEC says Lobola Assurance is not registered with them

Garikai Dzoma

25 August 2021

The Insurance and Pensions Commission (IPEC) has issued a statement over a Lobola Assurance banner that is doing rounds on social media especially WhatsApp. The banner claims to be from a company that calls itself Lobola Assurance and shows various packages which start from US$1.99 per month up to $19.99 per month.

The banner doing rounds on social media

There was a lot of excitement as the banner went viral on various social media platforms with a lot of people expressing admiration and interest in the product. Lobola is part and parcel of our culture and is considered an essential part of marriage. The truth though is that most people often struggle to pay the bride’s price when the time comes. It would be cool if there was such a product in the market but the truth is there is no such product.

According to IPEC, the authorities in charge of the insurance and pensions sector they do not have such a company on their books. This means this is almost certainly a scam or at the very least it’s an unregistered entity just after your money. Dealing with an unregistered insurance company puts you and your money at risk. You will not be able to make a claim and chances are the scammers will be long gone before their “policies” mature.

Below is the full statement from IPEC.

IPEC STATEMENT
ON LOBOLA ASSURANCE
The Insurance and Pensions Commission (IPEC)’s atention has been drawan to a flier, under the banner Lobal Assurance, that is circulating on social media platforms.
We wish to advise the public that we have not licensed such an entity nor the purported product.
Section 7 (1) of the Insuranc Act, prohibits unregistered entitis from carrying out insurance business.
We would also like to remind insurance customers to only deal with registered entities.
Consumers can check with the Insurance and Pensions Commision, entities that are authorised to render insurance services.
The list of registered entities can also be found on the IPEC website: www.ipec.co.zw.
IPEC is a statutory body establisehd in terms of the Insurance and Pensions Commmission Act [Chapter 24:21] to regulate the insurance and pensions industry in Zimbabwe.

IPEC Full Statement

Fintech, Social Media, WhatsApp

6 comments

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Anonymous

26 August 2021 08:16

The amount of spelling errors in the advert, should flag it as suspicious.

Reply
Anonymous

26 August 2021 09:40

Lobola should be banned. It’s useless. There’s gender equality now.

Reply
Godknows

26 August 2021 13:36

Good morning.

My name Godknows Kangara aged 26 years old. I grew up in Murehwa District, (Uzumba Maramba Pfungwe) under chief Nyajina, and village head Kaseke.

I’m very sorry for the cause I have done to the nation. Firstly this is what happened: someone wanted to take my idea. They have done all the marketing materials while I was preparing my papers for the registration. I had registered my company called Billionaire Technologies Private Limited under the Deeds office a few months ago. In the Billionaire Technologies Private Limited memorandum of association everything was mentioned that I shall practice or operate as insurance as well if I want to open an insurance company. Lobola Assurance i had this idea, planning research all around the world but i found out there was nothing like that. So i said God this is you, 2021 its my year to start all the registration process but someone was already after my product after he heard a friend of mine discussing about my idea and product.

So on Friday when I received a flyer which was circulating on WhatsApp called Munyai light, I got shocked and checked Ecocash I found out the name of the person using or stealing my idea. So I freaked out and thought maybe for me to secure my product or invention I have been planning researching for the past 3 years, maybe launching my page will alert the people who were trying to take my idea. Some alerts that I received were that people who were trying to take my product from me had a back-up of money and as for me, I didn’t have any of that, so that’s what shocked me little did I know what I’m doing was wrong.

I would also like to acknowledge to the public that the address and the company on the circulating flyer are not part of Lobola and they do not have any interest in it.

Lobola Assurance has been my dream for more than 3 years of planning, if I had money and other sources to secure my dream I wouldn’t have posted the flyer, but when I received the flyer things got worse, I started having a severe headache, I didn’t sleep the whole night until 4am on Saturday. I had no plan on who to contact and where should I go. Until I decided to launch it on social media which is Facebook and zimcelebs and other advertising pages they moved the flyer on other different social media’s.

On Monday morning, I started receiving calls and WhatsApp messages from people arround the nation, mostly in Harare surbubs. At first i ddnt believe it but, a friend of mine sent me a picture on WhatsApp, “Hona zimcelebs zvayaita, wadziya mumwe wangu…. keep on pushing the dream” the post was on twitter. Other radio stations they got in touch and even ZBC contacted me…. I did not know what to say the only thing I could do was to explain my policy how it works. Until IPEC staff started communicating with me they asked my IPEC number I did not have any of it, I went back on ipec.co.zw and accessed my pin I once did, but I wasn’t sure if this was my number they asked for (4000009530 or 4000009531).

Now I’m trying to do the right thing they asked me to do. To follow all the stages and the requirements they need. I hope the Government of Zimbabwe will consider my idea (Lobola Assurance), I believe this innovative product will be considered.

I grew up believing that, “Faith its like a rain drop which knows a river but dreams of an ocean. ”

I know all other avenues of Insurance and Assurance but this is my dream.

Reply
Anonymous

26 August 2021 17:07

Nyaya refu kudai ndeyechokwadi here?

Reply
1. Mai Victoria
  
  29 August 2021 10:05
  
  Either it’s true or false, it’s a cautionary tale. Never share your ideas and plans or they’ll surely get stolen before you take off.
  
  Reply
Captain Jack Sparrow

14 December 2021 18:56

Him being sincere with his explanation raises a lot of eyebrows, to me this guy is a bonafide comment 🤪🤪🤪 those people who he has ripped of will fill pity for him after reading such an article… He should face the full wrath of the law noone is above the law

Reply