Vodacom brings M-insurance in Tanzania
*Offers free insurance cover for regular users of M-pesa
Dar es Salaam, 3rd October, 2012 …
The ever changing mobile phone technology in East Africa has
registered a new first with Vodacom Tanzania introducing
M-insurance, a service that is set to fundamentally change how
insurance business is done.
M-Pesa users will be able to buy insurance plans and pay for their
premiums through the M-Pesa service, completely electronically.
To make this possible, initially Vodacom Tanzania has partnered with
Heritage Insurance and launched Faraja Insurance, a funeral benefit
policy that pays a cash amount to the nominated beneficiary of the
insured M-pesa user to assist with funeral expenses.
Faraja has various cover options to suit the needs and the budget of
all M-pesa users.
Vodacom Tanzania’s Managing Director Rene Meza says monthly premiums
for Faraja range from as little as Tsh 2000/- per month to Tsh 9800/-
per month. Benefits, range from Tshs 500,000/- to as much as Tshs
8,000,000/-.
Faraja Insurance gives individuals the option of changing or upgrading
their policies to those with higher benefits as their needs and
budgets change through life.
Vodacom is also offering free cover to M-PESA customers. Meza says,
“All our customers who do at least 10 M-Pesa money transfers in one
month , will receive free insurance cover worth Tsh200,000 in the
following month”.
“The unique aspect of this service is that there is no paper work
required to register for the benefit. A customer simply dials the
M-pesa menu *150*00# and selects the “Insurance” option to purchase
their preferred policy. Vodacom is committed to ensuring that all
M-pesa customers, can easily access our services anytime, anywhere
that is convenient, brining access to insurance to millions of M-pesa
customers” Meza says.
Claims will be processed within 72 hours upon provision of the
required documentation and will be made directly into the
beneficiaries’ M-PESA account.
Meza goes on to say,” that it is important for customers to confirm
that their details are correct and also to understand the terms and
conditions of the policy which are available in the Faraja brochures
available at the M-PESA agents or on the Vodacom and Heritage web
sites.”
Going forward, this partnership will see M-Pesa users enjoying even
more insurance products.
For more information on the service, customers can call 0764300001
toll-free anytime or pick a brochure from any M-Pesa agent.
About Vodacom M-PESA
M-PESA service was launched in May 2008 in Tanzania. The service has
over 3.5 million customers and over 36,000 agent outlets countrywide.
Over 160 organizations are now accept bill payment via M-PESA.
This is a total payment solution which does not require users to have
bank accouns – an important consideration in Tanzania where
millions of people do not operate bank accounts and can barely meet
the minimum qualifications to open account. With M-PESA, Vodacom
customers can deposit up to Tsh 5m/- for free, send and receive
money andwithdraw cash from any agent in the country. They can also
access their CRDB bank accounts and receive money from Western Union.