The claims payment ratio in the insurance sector in Kenya improved in the first quarter of 2021 according to a report released by the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA). Claims payment ratio is the number of claims paid in relation to the total number of claims actionable during the quarter.
The IRA report shows that the claims payment ratio for the long-term insurance business increased to 73.7% in the first quarter of 2021 compared to 73.1% observed in the previous quarter. Similarly, the claims payment for general liability claims increased to 9.2% from 8.4% in Q4 2020.
Kenyan companies with the highest claim payment ratio in the 1st quarter of 2021 for the long-term insurance business were, GA Life Assurance at 100%, CAPEX Life Assurance at 99.4%, Kenya Alliance Insurance at 91%, Britam Life Assurance at 89.4% and UAP Life Assurance at 87.9%. The industry average claim settlement ratio stood at 73.7% in the period under review.
In the general insurance business, the companies that had the highest claim payment ratio for the liability claims, also referred to as third-party claims, were; Kenya Alliance Insurance, Madison Insurance, Britam General Insurance, ICEA LION General Insurance, and Resolution Insurance. The industry average claim payment ratio for third party claims stood at 9.2% in Q1 2021, an improvement from 8.4% in Q4 2020.
According to the IRA report, general insurance companies settled 11,276 third-party claims in the first quarter of 2021, and 108,952 third-party claims were left outstanding at the end of that period. In the long-term insurance sector, 84,711 claims were settled in the period under review, and the number of outstanding claims stood at 30,039.
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