Botswana Life unveils Liferewards

MPHO MOKWAPE
Correspondent | Thursday June 27, 2013 00:00

 

The first of its kind by an insurance company in the country, the card is underwritten by BancABC and supported by Visa. It can be loaded with a minimum of P50 up to a maximum of P50,000. It allows for a minimum balance of P10. Botswana Life clients would be able to receive their claims and benefits directly into the card. They would then be able to transact with it as with  any debit card anywhere in the world.

Delivering a keynote address at the launch, Assistant Minister of Finance and Development Planning Vincent Seretse hailed Botswana Life for bringing yet another product that fuses insurance and banking services to its clients.He emphasised that as insurance companies worldwide change the view of insurance as conservative and boring, the card will bring Botswana to par with developed financial markets. He explained that the partnership between Botswana Life and BancABC brings opportunities for Batswana who were not able to participate in financial service markets, particularly banking, due to socio-economic constraints. 

He said it would enable clients to instantly access automated Visa card money services as well as other personal financial transactions beside life insurance payments.Seretse further acknowledged the company's contribution to the economy saying as the country seeks to diversify away from over-reliance on diamonds, the development of the financial services sector has become key.'The industry needs to focus more on consumer education in formal insurance to allow clients to understand the value proposition of insurance as a way of risk management,' he stressed.

Botswana Life CEO Catherine Lesetedi-Letegele said the card, which is also the first of its kind in Africa, would change the financial service landscape in Botswana by bringing convergence of financial services and products under one roof and change the lives of ordinary Batswana.She explained that her company has contributed immensely to people's lives through offering various protection products, including settling funeral claims. She noted that the economy has also seen substantial growth as in the last five years, over P3 billion of the company's annuity portfolio income was invested locally through government and corporate bonds, among other instruments.  She revealed that to date, her company has invested over P1.7 billion in corporate bonds, and funding of private businesses in different industries like financial services, retail, education and hotel and tourism.