The rate of insurance uptake for businesses globally stands at 7%, and it is only 3% in Africa. It is even lower than the regional rate in Kenya, standing at just 2.3%.
This signals a deep distrust or misunderstanding of the role of risk-transfer in an economy. According to Stephen Lokonyo, the Managing Director of First Assurance, this is caused by a high level of financial illiteracy in the local market and the inability of insurance companies to fill this knowledge gap.
He attributes the low penetration rate to a market mismatch between potential customers and the lofty products that many insurance companies are offering – leading to the misconception that only giant corporates need insurance.
In an interview for The Kenyan Wall Street‘s “Investing like an Executive” series, Lokonyo adds that leveraging on new distribution and marketing options – as well as exploring the mostly ignored MSMEs sector – could unfurl a new revolution in the insurance industry.
“The structure of an insurance company should design products based on its customers’ needs. You are the primary carrier of that risk, which means that your customers know you as the partner they have transferred their risk to,” Lokonyo says.
The importance of insurance cannot be underestimated in any economy. For businesses, the cost of insurance is often far less than the costs they’d incur incase of disasters. However, 98% of the Kenyan economy is Medium and Small Enterprises (MSMEs) with little to no capacity to handle risk.
Lokonyo says that First Assurance is broadening its insurance option to craft a unique and affordable cover which is in tandem with the needs of a small business. These include a health insurance cover known as ‘First Afya Biashara’ that will cover unlikely risks and make it cheaper for an individual to afford it. A combined insurance policy will also seek to encumber many risks that MSMEs are predisposed to, and premiums will be set after a special determination of the business’ size and cashflow.
First Assurance was established in the 1930s under a British firm but was ‘Kenyanized’ in the 80s and the 90s. In 2015, it became a subsidiary of ABSA bank (formerly Barclays). The company’s existence in the business sphere for almost a century gives it an upper hand in evaluating crucial concerns on insurance that other businesses regard as invaluable.
Some of the ways in which the company is trying to rejuvenate its client base include onboarding technology in marketing its services and simplifying operations. For instance, First Assurance has adopted an e-commerce platform to enable potential customers to pitch proposals for covers they wish to take. The company is also seeking to improvise ways to hasten the solving of claims, as well as updating them on steps taken.
“We are coming up with portals that will enable our customers to track the progress of their claims so that they do not feel frustrated. Most of the biggest frustrations for customers is not knowing what is happening once they report a claim,” said Lokonyo.
Reaching out to customers to take up insurance has been made easy after banks were licensed to provide the service. These banks can then partner with the insurance companies available in the market and link them to customers whose financial assets need to be de-risked. Insurance companies no longer need to rely on professional brokers and agents entirely.
“Banks have a large client base and over the last couple of years, banks have become active distributors of insurance products. Banks are licensed to sell insurance products, acting as intermediaries meant to give them access to insurance products to customers in the bank,” said Lokonyo.
