An Examination of the Factors Influencing Performance of the Insurance Industry in Tanzania: The Case of Zanzibar Insurance Corporation (ZIC).

The main objective of this study was to examine factors influencing performance of the insurance industry in Tanzania. To achieve these objectives both primary and secondary data were used. Primary data collected by means of semi-structured questionnaires. Secondary data obtained from various sources including book, journal and Internet. The sample of ninety (90) respondents was obtained using simple random sampling and purposive sampling techniques. The study revealed that performance of ZIC was affected by delay of payment of premium on time, reporting of fake claim and lack of know how about insurance service. In addition, accessibility and awareness of the insurance services provided by ZIC was not so difficult, therefore most intermediaries and insured were able to obtain and utilize the services. The result also found that operations of insurance company were influenced by assessors and investigator who delayed producing report on time. The company faced with the following challenges: Construction of marketable policies, introduction of the ‘cash and carry’ system in selling of insurance products in the market, lack of facilities in the country for training professionals, infrastructures system not well organized which result in only few places getting privilege of receiving the insurance services. The study recommended that insurance policies should be designed to be user friendly. Where possible, documents should be both in English and Swahili language to help understandability of Tanzanian insurance consumers. Keywords: Performance of ZIC, insurance industry, payment of premium, Tanzania