W. African insurer banks on faster processing of claims for growth

The newest entrant to Kenya’s insurance sector, West African Insurance Companies Associations Reinsurance (Waica-Re) Corporation, is banking on prompt processing of claims to wrestle a significant share of the regional terrorism, oil, gas and aviation deals from local rivals.

The Sierra Leone-headquartered reinsurer, which set up shop in Nairobi this week, got an operating permit from the Insurance Regulatory Authority last October after waiting for more than a year.

Waica Re’s Nairobi office will act as the regional hub for scouting for underwriting policies inked by insurers in the six-nation East African Community bloc, officials said.

“We are coming here to add value, create additional capacity, ensure we service our clients promptly and meet their needs,” Waica’s group chief executive Ezekiel Ekundayo said.

“We are ready to train people and if possible even involve insurers in working together to build capacity.”

Besides the specialised risk covers, the firm will also be scrambling for motor, fire, marine, engineering and life reinsurance deals.

Colonnade Re

Nairobi becomes the third unit outside West Africa for growth-hungry Waica Re which set up an office in Harare last December after acquiring Zimbabwe’s Colonnade Re for about $5.5 million (Sh555 million) million for Southern Africa.

That followed the opening of an office in Tunis in July 2017 for North Africa.

Incorporated in Freetown in March 2011, the firm went on to open regional offices in Nigeria and Ghana in April 2012 and Côte d'Ivoire a year later, helping grow revenue to Sh5.7 billion as at end of last year.

The reinsurer, largely owned by insurance firms in English-speaking Western African countries, faces competition for the Eastern Africa’s market from eight other players including Kenya Re, Zep-Re (formerly PTA) and Continental Re.

“We have to employ state of the art technology to hasten claims settlement, we will be able to have a cutting edge as a company. With everything in terms of electronic data, financial and reinsurance management, we should be able to settle claims in less than a week” chief executive of Waica Re Kenya Charles Etemesi said.