NMB, Reliance Insurance unveil mobile phone cover
NMB Bank’s retail banking chief Filbert Mponzi (right) and Reliance Insurance chief executive officer Ravi Shankar jointly unveil NMB Mkononi Insurance in Dar es Salaam yesterday. PHOTO|THE CITIZEN CORRESPONDENT
What you need to know:
The new product, which was unveiled in Dar es Salaam yesterday, only applies to the bank’s clients who subscribe to NMB Mkononi
Dar es Salaam. Mobile phones can now get instant insurance cover worth up to Sh500,000, thanks to a new partnership between NMB Bank Plc and Reliance Insurance.
The new product, which was unveiled in Dar es Salaam yesterday, only applies to the bank’s clients who subscribe to NMB Mkononi, the lender’s mobile banking platform. The arrangement covers mobile phone damage.
“While the claims process is supported by NMB Bank, Reliance Insurance Company will provide the insurance policy. With this insurance policy, customers will receive up to Sh500,000 per claim and a maximum of two claims per 12-month period,” the firms announced yesterday. Dubbed NMB Mkononi Insurance, the arrangement provides cover for accidental damage in the event of an unforeseen occurrence. “With an increasing numbers of phone users in the country, there is an increased urgency to drive greater efficiency and improve the overall consumer experience at every touch point of the customer journey,” said NMB Bank’s retail banking chief, Mr Filbert Mponzi.
He said a customer will not pay for the insurance cover. All he/she will have to do is subscribe to NMB Mkononi and the phone being used in the process gets automatically covered.
“Keeping aside the actual cost of the gadget in one’s hand, it is a piece of great value for its user. The fear of damaging a smartphone can be of great extent for many of us. To get rid of this nightmare for once and for all, is exactly why we are partnering with Reliance Insurance to provide this unique service for NMB Mkononi users,” said Mr Mponzi.
According to the Reliance Insurance chief executive officer, Mr Ravi Shankar, NMB’s mobile phone insurance was created as a tailor-made product and service basing on its expertise and underwriting experience in the banking sector.
“We believe that this will allow customers better ease of mind and hence leading to greater customer engagement, satisfaction and experience overall,” he said. The cover is valid on monthly basis, and all an NMB Mkononi user needs to do is make at least one transaction a month ranging from all airtime purchases, QR code payments, Payments of Insurance Premiums and households bills like electricity and water. NMB Mkononi users get instantly covered against cracked screens, liquid damage and accidental damage.
“This product comes in to not only entice customers into embracing more non- motor insurance covers but also encourage usage of NMB Mkononi for end-to-end transactions,” Mr Mponzi added. A customer needs only to report the claim to the nearest branch of NMB or call NMB contact centre 0800 002 002 Toll-Free, submit relevant documents, fill a claims form available at any of our 226 NMB branches countrywide, coupled with a technical report and submit the damaged phone at respective branch.
The Acting Director of Legal Enforcement from the Tanzania Insurance Regulatory Authority (TIRA) Emily Kiria commended NMB and Reliance Insurance for the initiative geared at making more people particularly those in the rural areas making use of insurance services in the country.
“This NMB and Reliance Insurance initiative will support the government’s Financial Sector Development Master Plan to have 80 per cent of adult people using insurance services and enhancing awareness to 50 per cent by 2030,” he said.
