Insurance firms in Kenya underwrote premiums worth KSh 312 billion in 2022 up from KSh 275 billion in 2021, according to the latest data from the Association of Kenya Insurers (AKI). This growth in insurance covers is on the back of increased awareness among consumers, digitization and increased strategic partnerships have enhanced the ease of access to insurance products.
The Insurance sector also recorded a steady growth of sales agents over the last five years from 8,955 in 2018 to 12,872 in 2022.
Non-life insurance remained the biggest contributor at 54.73% while Life insurance contributed 45.27%, to the gross underwritten premiums.
Insurance penetration stood at 2.33% in 2022 a marginal increase from 2.29% in 2021.
Motor insurance was the largest contributor at 32.32% followed by medical at 30.12%. Life Insurance business recorded gross premiums of KSh 141.32 billion in 2022 compared to KSh 124.69 billion in 2021, a 13.34% increase.
Deposit Administration/Pension dominated the business with a 41.95 percent share in gross premiums, this was followed by ordinary life at 27.56 percent. The annuities business was a new class reported in 2022 at a 2.01 percent share of premiums.
The number of licensed insurance and reinsurance companies remained at 56 and 5 respectively in 2022. Reinsurance brokers, agents, brokers, insurance investigators, risk managers, loss adjusters, motor assessors, and medical insurance providers (MIPs) increased in 2022.
In 2022, Uganda still maintained the highest number of insurance companies whose parent companies are in Kenya at 11 players followed by Tanzania at 10, Rwanda at 5, and Malawi at 4.
The Non-Life Insurance business in 2022 posted an underwriting loss of KSh 3.20 billion compared to KSh 4.99 billion in 2021 representing a 35.87% improvement between the two financial years. The highest underwriting loss was reported by motor private at KSh 4.00 billion followed by motor commercial at KSh 3.00 billion. The highest underwriting profit was recorded by Work Injury Benefits Insurance Cover at KSh 2.21 billion.
Only six companies made a profit in the motor private insurance class. The overall result was a loss of KSh 4.0 billion which was an improvement from the previous year’s loss of KSh 5.9 billion.
Only six companies made a profit in the motor commercial class. The overall result was a loss of KSh 4.0 billion which was an improvement from the previous year’s loss of KSh 5.9 billion.
There has been a general growth trend in the gross written premiums for medical insurance over the past five years. The compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) for the five years is 6.39%. 19 companies underwrote medical insurance policies with the top five companies accounting for almost 73% of the total market share in Gross Written Premiums(GWP).
The top three companies in GWP terms were Old Mutual, Jubilee Health, and AAR having a portion of 17.4%, 16.4%, and 12.9% respectively.
The three companies accounted for almost 50% of the medical insurance business. Only seven out of the 19 companies made underwriting profit in 2022.
The medical insurance business has made losses in the last two consecutive years.
Aviation Insurance Aviation insurance recorded a growth of 15.58% in insurance premiums from KSh 2.60 billion in 2021 to KSh 3.00 billion in 2022. An underwriting loss of KSh 1.58 million was recorded in 2022 compared to a profit of KSh 34.63 million in the previous year. 11 companies underwrote aviation insurance but only five registered underwriting profits.
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