National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u (pictured) has warned of low uptake of long-term insurance in the country and called on industry players to consider this as a potential opportunity.

For example, only nine per cent of reinsurance business in the country came from long-term insurance business lines, such as life insurance.

“As insurance industry players in Africa, there is need to identify and implement strategies for increasing insurance growth in the long-term insurance lines of business. There is need to develop ways of enhancing value and trust in life insurance and its distribution if there is to be growth in this line of business,” Ndung’u said in a statement.

“The development of the long-term insurance business is critical to the national economic development as it constitutes a key aspect of mobilisation of funds and savings that are important for national development,” he added. Ndung’u spoke in Nanyuki when he opened the eighth reinsurance CEOs summit last week. In 2022, long term insurers in Kenya received a total premium income of Sh2.88 billion, a decrease of eight per cent from the Sh3.13 billion reported in 2021.

Marginal growth

General reinsurers reported inward reinsurance premium amounting to Sh28.43 billion in 2022 up from Sh28.09 billion reported in 2021 representing a marginal growth of 1.2 per cent. Fire industrial class of insurance business continues to account for the largest share of the total premium under general reinsurance business at 31.66 per cent. According to the CS, life insurance in most African countries contributes an average of one-third of the premiums with two-thirds coming from the general insurance business.

During the same event, Pan-African reinsurer, Continental Reinsurance Plc announced the winners of the eighth Pan-African (Re)Insurance Journalism Awards.

Winners in six categories were announced drawn from across the African continent.