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Madison Insurance now launches university education financing plan
From left: Madison Insurance CEO Joshua Njiru, his Commission for University Education counterpart Prof David Some and Madison chairman Samuel Ngaruiya during the launch of UniPlan. PHOTO | SALATON NJAU
Madison insurance has launched a new long -term financing plan that will cover the cost of accommodation and learning materials for students in tertiary institutions.
The premiums on the life assurance product dubbed Madison UniPlan will be pegged on the projected cost of the preferred degree programme.
The cost of tuition in university ranges between Sh500,000 for arts degrees to Sh2.3 million for a medical degree, meaning that most parents are either forced to rely on the Higher Education Loans Board (Helb) to pay for their children’s education or occasionally organise fund raising drives to see their children through school.
This cost excludes conservative monthly living expenses of between Sh20,000 and Sh25,000, which can translate to a total cost over Sh1 million for a four-year course.
“The plan has been structured such that the tuition fee is a compulsory benefit while the other costs are optional add-ons. This will allow the parent or guardian to choose the benefits that best reflect their personal circumstances,” said Madison Group chief executive Joshua Njiru.
“As an additional benefit, the child covered will receive free personal accident and local travel insurance cover within the duration of study.”
He said that the plan is expected to pay a return of between five and seven per cent per annum, with parents required to save a minimum of Sh7,500 per month.
Enrolment
“The minimum duration for saving through the plan will be five years, and the maximum period is 15 years,” said Mr Njiru.
The cover will also be available for those studying in technical and vocational education training Institutions (Tvet) institutions.
In last year’s KCSE examinations, about 88,000 students qualified to join university, majority of them headed to public institutions.
The total enrolment of university students in Kenya is about 500,000, out of whom 200,000 have access to Helb financing per year.
