Kenya: Insurance market in post-COVID recovery
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | May 2023
Kenya’s insurance sector is on track towards full recovery and is poised to record positive growth in the next five years, according to industry experts.
Insurers that place business with WAICA Reinsurance Kenya are increasing their investment in technology and venturing into the agriculture sector to boost earnings.
The sector has been subdued in the last two years due to economic shocks and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, reported the newspaper The Star. High claims have continued to hurt earnings, especially in the private motor and medical general insurance classes.
According to the latest claims report by the Insurance Regulatory Authority for the three months to December 2022, the Kenyan insurance industry paid claims worth KES40.6bn ($310m), a 3% increase from the July-September 2022 quarter.
Speaking at a recent client briefing, WAICA Re Kenya CEO Charles Etemesi said that business in Kenya accounts for 64% of its operations. The company is expanding its activities to achieve growth.
Of the 37 general insurance companies in Kenya, the company is currently on 18 insurers’ treaty retrocession programmes. Overall, it conducts business with 45 companies.
The reinsurer posted a net profit of KES810m in the financial year ended 31 December 2022. Gross premiums written jumped by 120% to KES3.26bn in 2022. Total assets rose by 68% to KES4.10bn as of 31 December 2022, compared to KES2.44bn 12 months previously.
WAICA Re Kenya is a subsidiary of Sierra Leone-registered WAICA Re. The latter was formed in 2022 by West African insurance companies Association (WAICA). WAICA Re has regional offices in Nigeria, Ghana, Tunisia and Ivory Coast. Apart from Kenya, the group also has a subsidiary in Zimbabwe. M