Jubilee maintains market lead with 12.6pc of revenue

Jubilee Insurance has maintained its market leader position in the first half of the year, beating off competition from close rivals Britam and ICEA Lion.

Fresh data from the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) shows Jubilee’s market share stood at 12.6 per cent as at June this year, compared to the merged total of Britam and Real Insurance at 11.5 per cent.

The newly merged UAP-Old Mutual group is ranked fifth, controlling 6.7 per cent of Kenya’s total gross premiums, behind ICEA Lion’s 7.9 per cent and CIC Insurance’s 7.1 per cent in the half-year period.

Pan Africa Insurance Holdings, which acquired a majority stake in Gateway, has a market share of 3.1 per cent while Metropolitan Life- Cannon Assurance controls 1.1 per cent of the industry’s underwritten premiums.

Jubilee Insurance chief executive Patrick Tumbo attributed the firm’s market grip to innovation by launching new products, bancassurance and prompt payment of claims.

“We have been launching new products beyond the corporate market targeting SMEs and individuals. We are also using banks to sell mostly life policies,” Mr Tumbo said in an interview.

Kenya’s insurance industry saw gross underwritten premiums grow 15.3 per cent in the first six months of this year to Sh88.38 billion compared to Sh76.6 billion in June 2014.

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This translates to an insurance penetration rate of 1.55 per cent of Kenya’s newly rebased GDP, which now stands at Sh5.719 trillion according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.

“The acquisitions represent an opportunity for creating synergies and leveraging on innovation all of which— if managed properly — could enhance long-term revenue growth and profitability for the sector,” said Sammy Makove, IRA chief executive in a report.

The IRA’s half year data shows that Jubilee controlled premiums worth Sh11.1 billion compared to the combined entity of Britam and Real (Sh10.1 billion), ICEA Lion (Sh6.9 billion), CIC (Sh6.2 billion), UAP-Old Mutual (Sh5.9 billion) and APA with policy covers valued at Sh5.4 billion.

Old Mutual in January acquired 23.3 per cent of UAP Holdings —a combined stake from investment firm Centum and businessman Chris Kirubi for $97.6 million (Sh9.9 billion).

The South African financial firm was in June cleared to buy a further 37.3 per cent stake of UAP Holdings that is expected to hand Old Mutual a 60.7 per cent stake in UAP Holdings on completion.

Pan Africa in March completed acquisition of a 51 per cent stake in rival Gateway Insurance in a deal worth Sh561 million.

Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed financial services firm Metropolitan International in February completed the purchase of a majority stake in Cannon Assurance for Sh2.3 billion (R300 million).