MOZRE (MOCAMBIQUE RESSEGUROS)

MOZRE (MOCAMBIQUE RESSEGUROS)

Preparing for a dynamic and robust future www.mozre.co.mz

ame M O Z R E

( M O C A M B I Q U E

R E S S E G U R O S )

Making the most of

Mozambique

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MOZRE has been the only resident reinsurer in Mozambique for the best part of 10 years, preparing the country for not just an industry evolution, but for a much wider infrastructural boom Writer: Matthew Staff Project Manager: Callum Philp OZRE’s role and responsibility as the first reinsurance player in the Mozambican market is never one that has been taken lightly, and the Company is now set to reap the rewards of its own sustainable efforts as industry demand hits new heights in East Africa.

Becoming the first resident reinsurance Company to be established in the country in 2007, the subsequent decade has seen a mix of fortunes for a business that thrived as the sole option in a lucrative market, but was challenged at every turn to construct its own industry infrastructure and talent pool during the process.

With support from neighbouring countries and regions on the continent though, rapid progress has been made and via its involvement across sectors including fire, engineering, marine, cargo, aviation, automotive and many more insurance offerings, Mocambique Resseguros SA - to give it its full name - has successfully built an entire sector around itself on an indigenous level.

“The main thing we have provided is skills development in terms of training,” says the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, Mufaro Chauruka.

“There was inevitably a huge gap in terms of skills so we have spent a lot of time and formed a lot partnerships in order for clients and the younger generation to take examinations and receive their certifications of proficiency in the industry.”

Based on international standards on the continent, the diplomas, work experience and training that has been provided since 2010 in particular has already resulted in more than 100 newly skilled professionals within the market, and even more significant is the transition from English to Portuguese for the Certificate of Proficience (COP) level that have been translated in, in order to encourage the core population of Mozambique to write this examination.

“Last year we translated the COP book from English into Portuguese and people did their first examinations in Portuguese. So local underwriters had the option to write in Portuguese - the official language of Mozambique - or English if they wanted,” Chauruka continues.

Young trainees have also been given the opportunity to receive external training in the likes of South Africa, Zimbabwe and Dubai to learn the relevant trade skills and to gain enhanced understanding and exposure of the reinsurance industry; gearing both themselves, and MOZRE as a Company up for future industry spikes expected within Mozambique specifically.

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M O Z R E

( M O C A M B I Q U E

R E S S E G U R O S )

Organic growth

Today’s ever-maturing and competitive insurance domain is a far cry from the one embarked within by MOZRE back in 2007, as the Company stepped into a gaping chasm in a finance industry completely devoid of reinsurance capacity.

Local insurers at the time were almost entirely dependent on neighbouring countries and the SADC region in particular, and MOZRE knew with a sustainable approach to development and a considered evolution regarding initial strategic partnerships, that Mozambique could flourish where it hadn’t before.

“The uptake initially was mixed with some companies adopting a ‘wait and see’ attitude, and some only supporting a little bit to begin with until confidence was gained,” Chauruka recalls. “People quickly saw that we were here for the long run though and confidence was gained quickly.”

An organic growth has been witnessed ever since with MOZRE’s initial entry into the industry, the company continues to experience a natural progression as the Company’s clientele grew and foreign direct investors realised that there was a local market player to turn to should they wish to enter the country’s numerous industrial avenues.

Meanwhile, on an internal note, MOZRE has continued to enhance its own internal structure in line with international best practices and what it anticipates it will need to be prepared for in the years to come.

From a personnel perspective, both existing and budding employees continue to be trained as far away as Dubai in order to provide the best possible final service to its clients; while from an administration point of view, the Company has made significant upgrades over the years to its technologies and statistical analysis tools so as to monitor its clients’ needs more efficiently and effectively.

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EMOSE

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s the first post-independence national insurer, EMOSE’s mission is to protect and generate wealth for people and organisations, utilising our excellent services and wide range of products.

As a market leader in the domestic insurance industry, with more than three decades of experience and more than 100,000 policies, Emose has branches located throughout Mozambique, which allows us to respond to customer concerns on a 24/7 basis quickly and efficiently.

25 de Setembro Av, No 1383 P.O. Box No 696 - 1165 Maputo - Moçambique T +258 21 356300/1 E comercial@emose.co.mz Leveraging an ever-maturing insurance domain

We follow the developed world a lot and while their latest facilities and systems may be too far ahead for our needs right now, there’s still room for us to improve and aspire to those levels

www.emose.co.mz “It is always important to keep moving forward,” Chauruka notes. “We follow the developed world a lot and while their latest facilities and systems may be too far ahead for our needs right now, there’s still room for us to improve and aspire to those levels.”

Dynamic and robust

Monitoring the developing world is an action not purely driven by operational concerns, but also in analysing global industry trends and insurance requirements; especially given the aforementioned rise in international businesses looking to enter the Mozambican market.

Subsequent partnerships alongside reinsurance and insurance brokers, loss adjusters and risk management organisations have helped MOZRE to be more prepared for niche demands, business interruptions and potential business continuity issues for prospective clients, and a shift is now being seen towards enhanced local demand.

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LIFE INSURANCE • Group Life • Individual Life • Loan Protection • Funeral Benefits OTHER INSURANCE • Engineering Insurance • Fire and Allied Perils • Marine • Aviation • Motor Insurance • Workman’s Compensation PERSONALISED INSURANCE PACKAGES • Oil and Gas • Mines • Crop and Harvesting • Cattle Raising • Bankassurance

WE ARE ALL OVER THE COUNTRY 25 de Setembro Av, N° 1383, P.O. Box N° 696 - 1165 Maputo - Moçambique Tel: +258 21 356300/1 E-mail: comercial@emose.co.mz Web: www.emose.co.mz

Matola 21 720106 Malhampsene 21 720106 Chokwe 28 120083 Xai-Xai 28 222253 Inhambane 29 320730

A second reinsurance player is expected in the country in mid-2016 and alongside a larger assortment of insurance competitors also, the

Maxixe 29 330124 Beira 23 325205 Quelimane 24 212755 Mocuba 24 810477 Gurue 24 910045

Chimoio 25 122206 Tete 25 223055 Songo 25 282235 Nampula 26 212683 Lichinga 27 120743

country is more ready than ever to deal with an FDI influx.

Chaukura says: “We have been careful not to just depend on business from Mozambique but the wider region as well, so that when things are not going so well in one country, we can rely on another to help us balance our portfolio.”

The same ethos is adopted in regards to its sector coverage as well, with construction, energy, mining and everything in between under MOZRE’s capabilities in order to capitalise where demand is strongest and alleviate where business is weakest.

“We have always differentiated ourselves in terms of our ability to turnaround projects and operations quickly, which is pivotal in our industry,” Chauruka says. “There has been a slowdown in the economy in the past year but we hope once gas operations in the north come on stream and a rush for other minerals

Angoche 26 720428 Nacala 26 526848 Pemba 27 220437 Cuamba 27 162724

occurs for guys in Mozambique, there will be a lot more growth.”

Combine these industry fluctuations with an existing boom in the construction sector and MOZRE has every right to be excited about a future insurance industry in Mozambique that it can proudly look back and say it contributed extensively towards.

“We will be a lot bigger as a Company in the future, with an improved rating and improved recognition from our clientele,” Chauruka concludes. “There are a lot of FDIs being seen in the region so as these constructions come live and cities enjoy more investment, a lot more insurance will be needed across these infrastructure projects which will be a massive positive for us.

“We will be much more dynamic and robust in the future, and regardless of the challenges of the economy, we expect Mozambique to rebound and we are ready for that growth to get as much business as we can.”

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SA Av Kenneth Kaunda, No. 674 CP 2382m, Maputo, Mozambique Tel: +258 21 485 972/977 Email: mozre@mozre.co.mz

www.mozre.co.mz