Clothing manufacturer Paramount Garment Works has raised concerns over the delay by its insurance provider in settling a multi-million-dollar claim to rebuild their three-story warehouse that was destroyed by fire last year.
The fire incident at its factory located in the Harare’s industrial area of Southerton came two weeks after the company had celebrated its 75th anniversary and experienced a 20% growth in its business.
While the fire was put out, it is still unclear what caused the fire with the company’s insurers currently reviewing the damage.
Speaking during a recent press conference Paramount group finance director Jeremy Youmans said the process had been too long to complete.
“Paramount had submitted their main claim 8 months ago and the insurance company had spent four months auditing the claim, only to then offer a fraction of it in settlement, with no real substantiation. This is stressing the company and threatens its survival,” Youmans said.
“A formal complaint had been made with the regulatory authority, Insurance and Pension Commission (IPEC), and following meetings with them, IPEC was now seized with the issue and we hope that common sense and integrity would prevail.”
Youmans said the company is now relying on other stakeholders that are helping them.
“Everybody else is helping us out, except for the one that we paid to do it. From that point of view, we won't be able to keep on relying on all the support we are getting. It is just impossible for people to keep on waiting for their orders and keep on pre-paying for things that they cannot yet get.
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“But we are winning slowly. We are not there yet, but yes, the obvious answer is we need some of that money now and we were promised it right back in February.
In an interview with Newsday, IPEC Insurance Supervision director Sibongile Siwela said they are now involved in efforts to resolve the dispute.
“Paramount recently lodged a complaint over a delay in the settlement of their claim,” Siwela said.
“The Commission is currently engaging with the policyholder and the insurer to assist in the resolution of the dispute.”
