DRC: « bank-insurance », RAWSUR LIFE willing to collaborate with the banking sector

RAWSUR LIFE is willing to collaborate with all the DRC banking institutions to promote « bank-insurance ». According to its general manager, Yashwin Hawoldar, this model has proven to be one of the most successful in selling life insurance products elsewhere. He was a guest of Breakfast Connexion in the program « Saturdays of the info (Les samedis de l’info) », Saturday, May 25, 2019 at the hotel Memling of Kinshasa.

In his presentation, the boss of Rawsur Life began from the observation that: despite the remarkable development of the banking system in DRC, major progress remains to be made, particularly in terms of the rate of banking of households and SMEs. If strengthening banks and their role in financing the economy remains a priority for all, the newcomer in the financial ecosystem is the insurer.

Bancassurance, legality and benefits
« Bancassurance means the sale of insurance products through banks. Banks and insurance companies enter into a partnership in which the bank sells the insurance company’s insurance products to its customers and in exchange the bank collects a commission », said Yashwin Hawoldar.

As for its legality, it referred to Article 460 of the DRC Insurance Code which authorizes financial institutions, namely banks, to be distributors of insurance products. As a result, banks wishing to become distributors of insurance products are required to contact ARCA in order to obtain an authorization.

Regarding the benefits of this model for banks, the CEO of RAWSUR LIFE spoke about: gaining additional revenue, customer loyalty strengthening the customer-bank relationship, the appropriate use of existing banking infrastructure, optimal use of the workforce to increase productivity efficiency.

« Banks are becoming a kind of » supermarket « where customers’ demands for finance and insurance can be met. By providing all services under one roof, banks can also improve the level of satisfaction of customers who are becoming more and more demanding. By including insurance elements in their existing product offering, they will differentiate themselves from their competitors », insisted Yashwin Hawoldar.

Life insurance in DRC, the five challenges

To promote the development of Life Insurance in DRC, the Managing Director of RAWSUR LIFE is aware that their corporation faces several challenges. He grouped them in five in his exchange with the economic operators in this context of this meeting broadcast on Top Congo FM.

These include: the popularization of insurance products produced with the Congolese population, the transition from informal family or community solidarity to a solidarity organized around a life insurance service sometimes cheaper, the low purchasing power of local people and their lack of insurance culture; the fi nancial context that limits the net return of life insurance products; and the lack of quali fi ed human resources and quality risk data.

« RAWSUR LIFE is committed to making a significant contribution to the financial ecosystem by working closely with banks and other financial institutions », said Executive Director Yashwin Hawoldar.

For this last Saturday of the month, Breakfast Connexion and its partners including Top Congo FM and Zoom Eco organized this exchange on the insurance industry in a liberalized context in DRC.

Eric TSHIKUMA