Built for Zambia
PIA compliance for life insurers in Zambia
PIA compliance means meeting the obligations that the Pensions and Insurance Authority places on a licensed insurer in Zambia under the Insurance Act No. 38 of 2021: holding and maintaining a licence, keeping long-term and general business separate, submitting periodic returns and financial statements, meeting the capital and solvency requirements the regulator sets, protecting policyholders and handling complaints properly.
Software cannot make an insurer compliant on its own, but it can make compliance far easier by keeping the policy, premium, claims and ledger data those obligations depend on in one auditable place. Ontech LifeI ERP produces regulatory returns, statutory fund and solvency figures from live data and records every change with who made it and when.
Key capabilities
Regulatory return generation
Returns are built from live policy, claims and ledger data rather than assembled from exported spreadsheets.
Statutory fund and solvency tracking
Life fund balances and solvency figures are maintained continuously so the position is known before a return is due.
Actuarial and IFRS 17 outputs
Reserves, premium filings and IFRS 17 reporting draw on the same policy data as the regulatory returns.
Complete audit trail
Every policy, claim, payment and user action is logged with user, timestamp and before-and-after values.
Compliance tracking
Obligations under the Insurance Act are tracked as items with owners, due dates and evidence.
Complaints and policyholder records
Complaints, correspondence and beneficiary details are kept on the policy so they can be produced on request.
Role-based access and approvals
Maker-checker approvals and role permissions show the regulator that controls exist and are followed.
How it works
- Products, funds and reporting categories are configured to match how the insurer reports to the regulator.
- Policies, premiums and claims are recorded in the course of normal operations.
- The general ledger and actuarial modules update fund and reserve positions from those records.
- When a return is due, the compliance team generates it from the platform and reviews it.
- Supporting detail and audit logs are available for any figure the regulator queries.
Benefits
Returns that reconcile
Because returns, financial statements and operational reports share one source, the figures agree with each other.
Less preparation time
Compliance teams review generated returns instead of building them from scratch each period.
Evidence on demand
Audit logs and document storage make it straightforward to answer regulator or auditor questions.
Controls that are visible
Role-based access and approval workflows demonstrate that the insurer's stated controls operate in practice.
Who it is for
- Compliance officers and company secretaries at licensed long-term insurers.
- Finance teams responsible for statutory returns and financial statements.
- Appointed actuaries who need reserve and fund data from operational records.
- New applicants for a long-term insurance licence who must show they have adequate systems.
Zambia-specific considerations
The Pensions and Insurance Authority supervises insurers, reinsurers, intermediaries and pension schemes in Zambia. Under the Insurance Act No. 38 of 2021 an insurer must be licensed for the class of business it writes, long-term and general business are kept separate, and insurers must file returns and audited financial statements with the Authority and meet the capital and solvency requirements it sets. The Authority also supervises how insurers treat policyholders and handle complaints.
Alongside PIA obligations, a Zambian life insurer must comply with the Data Protection Act No. 3 of 2021 in handling policyholder information and with Zambia Revenue Authority requirements for tax. Since 2023 IFRS 17 governs how insurance contracts are reported in financial statements. An insurer's systems need to support all of these from the same underlying records.
How Ontech LifeI ERP addresses this
PIA returns from operational data
The life reports module generates regulatory returns, production, claims and persistency reports directly from policies and the ledger.
Compliance tracking built in
A compliance module tracks obligations under the Insurance Act with owners, deadlines and evidence, so nothing depends on memory.
Audit trail on everything
Every transaction and user action is logged, and maker-checker approvals govern payouts and other sensitive actions.
Frequently asked questions
What is PIA compliance?
PIA compliance is meeting the obligations that the Pensions and Insurance Authority places on licensed insurers in Zambia under the Insurance Act No. 38 of 2021, including licensing, separation of long-term and general business, periodic returns and financial statements, capital and solvency requirements, policyholder protection and complaints handling.
What does PIA require from insurers?
In general terms, PIA requires insurers to hold a licence for their class of business, maintain the capital and solvency levels the Authority sets, submit periodic returns and audited financial statements, keep proper records, treat policyholders fairly and handle complaints. The specific returns and timetables are set by the Authority and should be confirmed with it directly.
How can insurance software support regulatory reporting?
By keeping policy, premium, claims and ledger data in one system with an audit trail, software can generate returns from live records, keep fund and solvency positions current, and provide supporting detail for any figure the regulator queries, instead of relying on spreadsheets built each period.
Does LifeI ERP support PIA-related workflows?
Yes. Ontech LifeI ERP generates regulatory returns and statutory fund and solvency figures from operational data, tracks Insurance Act obligations in a compliance module, logs every transaction and enforces maker-checker approvals.
Does software make an insurer PIA compliant?
No. Compliance remains the insurer's responsibility. Software supports it by keeping accurate records, producing returns and evidencing controls; the insurer still has to meet the regulator's licensing, capital and conduct requirements.
Which other Zambian laws affect a life insurer's systems?
The Data Protection Act No. 3 of 2021 governs how policyholder data is handled, Zambia Revenue Authority requirements govern tax, and IFRS 17 governs financial reporting of insurance contracts. Ontech LifeI ERP supports each from the same records.
Sources
See Ontech LifeI ERP for your company
Book a demo with Ontech Solutions in Lusaka and see policy administration, claims, Mobile Money collection and PIA reporting working together in one platform.
Last updated 2026-09-13. Published by Ontech Solutions, Lusaka, Zambia.