Global insurance broker Aon is planning to shut down its subsidiary in Zimbabwe, which provides insurance broking and employee benefit services in the country.
An undisclosed source from Aon Zimbabwe was quoted by ZimEye as saying, "Aon is pulling out of Zimbabwe. Once this proposal is approved, Aon will pull out, selling its stake to a consortium led by Masawara Holdings."
"Aon will allow the Zimbabwe outfit to use its name for the 2013-14 whilst it is in transition to the new name," the source added.
The underwriter was suspended by Zimbabwe’s insurance regulator IPEC board for writing new business following its failure to meet the country’s regulations pertaining to its ownership structure, as reported by the news agency.
Aon, which was operating its Zimbabwean subsidiary since 1997, failed to meet the regulators’ deadline of 31 December 2012 to comply with the insurance regulations.
According to the regulator’s proposal, Aon should implement the shareholder structure including 40% to Aon, 40% to TA holding, 10% to employees, and remaining 10% will be offered to a group of local business people.
Currently, TA Holdings owns 30% share of Aon Zimbabwe.
With an employee base of 62,000 people operating in more than 120 countries, the group offers risk management, insurance and reinsurance brokerage services among others.