The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kaddunabi said the new development comes at the time the regulator is trying to boost the uptake of insurance whose penetration has remained low in the east African region.
Latest data from IRA shows that Uganda’s insurance penetration stands at merely 0.86% compared with 1% in Rwanda, 2.3% in Tanzania and 3.2% in Kenya even as insurance premiums continue to surge.
But the sector has since 2013 been growing. Premiums have risen from Shs 463billion to Shs 502.65billion in 2014 and Shs 611.13billion in 2015 mainly due to local insurance’s participation in the on-going infrastructural projects and improvement in the economy.
Life insurance premiums have grown from Shs55.4billion to Shs74billion and Shs99.8billion during the same period. Liberty Life Assurance Company commands the class’ market share with 35.1% compared with 18.8% for UAP and ICEA with 18%. Prudential, CIC and Britam have less than 1% each market share.
Last year, Britam insurance unveiled a micro-insurance product dubbed U-Insured to protect its subscriber’s in the unfortunate event that they break a bone(s) in partnership with Uganda Telecom, in addition to its existing products to grow its market share.
Similarly, Lion Assurance unveiled Maisha Boda Insurance, targeting boda boda cyclists in partnership with Tugende, a profit –for- social enterprise in 2014.
As at the end of last year, Uganda had 29 insurance companies (Non-Life and life) and 11 Health Membership Organizations.
A study released last year dubbed The East African Financial Systems: Optimal Regional Integration’ says that insurance penetration in the region is still low compared with the Africa average that stands at 3.5%, signaling more opportunities for investors in the industry.
The study conducted by Paul Mugerwa, a scholar and CEO of Asante Capital Hub Ltd also states that the future of the insurance industry in the country is bright with the planned roll out of ban assurance, national health insurance scheme, implementation of various infrastructural projects including Standard Gauge Railway and the development of the oil sector.
MMI Holdings was formed in 2010 when Metropolitan Holdings and Momentum Group, two insurance and financial services companies in South Africa, merged their operations. Prior to the merger the two companies maintained a significant presence in the South African financial services.
The company registered a 16% fall in earnings to R3.2 billion (US$236.5million) for the year ending June 2016 citing lower underwriting profits and muted investment markets in their countries of operations.
****
editor@independent.co.ug
