WHEN a fire gutted her house a few years ago, 36-year-old Tendai Chamboko was badly injured. BY FIDELITY MHLANGA She lost her sight in the inferno. However, she had no insurance cover to help her cope with the huge costs that come with injuries of this nature. Chamboko’s predicament was compounded by the fact that Zimbabwe has no disability insurance schemes, except a fund that is administered by the National Social Security Authority, which caters for injured workers. Chamboko, who has never been formally employed, soon found herself in a quagmire. “The fire accident made me aware of the importance of insurance,” she told Weekly Digest. “We lost everything and I was left disabled. I lack access to information, especially in braill language, which is compatible with my condition.” Chamboko’s problem is experienced by many people living with disabilities (PWDs), who struggle to access specialised insurance cover to take care of their needs in time of poor health. But, it does not end with PWDs. The Insurance and Pensions Commission of Zimbabwe (IPEC) says generally, medical insurance coverage is extremely low. This means the majority of people are confronted by frightening experiences once they get ill because they cannot access appropriate healthcare, which is expensive in Zimbabwe. Over 70% of working age people are jobless. Those who are still in formal jobs are not paid enough to afford medical cover. “I think the fact that our coverage ratio is only 10% means that medical cover is not working for the majority of Zimbabwe,” says Grace Muradzikwa, IPEC commissioner. “If it was working our coverage and penetration ratio would be higher than the 10%. My observation is that most of the people who are covered are actually those employed in the formal sector. If you are a non-standard worker you cannot afford medical aid so I think this is probably the time we need to look at some kind of national health insurance. I think the need is there,” she says. The IPEC chief said she was worried that vulnerable groups like pensioners could not afford medical cover. “You are covered for the 30 years that you are working because your employer is paying. The day you leave your employment you cannot afford medical aid anymore. In fact, I think that your pension benefit is less than the cost of medical contribution so from day one when you are a pensioner you cannot be covered by medical aid,” she says. It is a bigger crisis. Many PWDs have bemoaned a plethora of challenges that hinder them from accessing insurance products and services. They say exclusion from such a key service turns them into second-class citizens. In Zimbabwe there is life assurance, pension and funeral assurance. Life assurance guarantees a normal life after retirement. Funeral assurance helps people prepare for a decent burial whereas a pension is a fund into which a sum of money is accumulated during the time an employee is in employment to support them on retirement. The products are vital in the event of death, disability, serious illness and other situatio