Faulu Bank launches automation of bancassurance processes
By People Reporter, February 5, 2020
Faulu Bank has launched a system that has fully automated all bancassurance processes at its more than 60 branches countrywide.
The system is set to improve operational efficiencies, deliver convenience and speed to its growing client base.
The Shs.20million system will automatically issue quick quotations, facilitate cover processing and administer all insurance products underwritten by UAP Old Mutual group and other licensed insurance companies in Kenya.
“Bancassurance is an important part of our service offering because it helps our customers access a wide range of insurance products, helping them protect the wealth that they work so hard to create,” said Faulu Bank Managing Director, Apollo Njoroge during the launch of the system.
This innovation is expected to expand the microfinance institution’s bancassurance revenue to more than Shs70 million by the end of 2020.
The system is also expected to improve decision-making at the bank, due to the timeliness and accuracy of the data it processes as well as reports and the fact that it will be integrated with the Bank’s core banking system.
Faulu Bank has over 500,000 customers and a wide distribution network that consists of over 60 branches and over 500 agencies across the country and through Insurance Premium Financing (IPF) customers are able to service their premium bills.
“With this new system we will collect data with greater scientific precision. This will enable us to improve the customer experience by delivering what our customer want, how they want it, when they want it and where they want it,” concluded Mr. Njoroge
Insurance penetration, which is calculated as the total value of insurance premiums as a percentage of GDP, has stagnated at around 3% in Kenya compared to 16% in South Africa, the highest in Africa.
To help Kenya deepen insurance penetration, regulators in the insurance and banking sectors have supported the adoption of bancassurance by banks and microfinance institutions.
Bancassurance allows for the selling of insurance products and services through banks and microfinance institutions, which typically have larger branch networks than insurance companies and enjoy closer relationships with their customers, making it easier to demystify insurance.
In Kenya, low insurance penetration has been associated with misperceptions about insurance and low consumer education.