Continental Re tips insurers to raise uptake

Pan African reinsurer Continental Reinsurance is pushing local insurers to take advantage of low penetration and growing population to develop products that will cushion farmers from losses and boost food security.

Group managing director Femi Oyetunji said this can only be achieved if the industry stakeholders complement each other rather than compete.

“We should not focus on competing as industry stakeholders but complementing each other and building a better insurance market. By building partnerships, relationships and working together, we can reap lots of benefits,” said Mr Oyetunji in Nairobi during the celebrations to mark the reinsurer’s 10th anniversary in Kenya.

Insurance firms have launched covers for livestock and crops like maize, sugarcane, wheat, barley, rice, tea, coffee, vegetables and flowers, but the uptake has been low. This has been attributed to low literacy levels, high cost of production, the complexity of weather-index-related insurance schemes, which has locked out many small-scale farmers from coverage.

In 2017, data from Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) showed that insurance penetration declined by 1.11 per cent in 2017 attributed to high cost of premium, fraud, mistrust and ignorance by Kenyans.

The reach slightly dipped from 2.71 per cent in 2016 to 2.68 per cent last year.

Mr Oyetunji said to contribute to Kenya’s economic agenda, the insurance sector should also support other sectors such as infrastructure, health, housing and manufacturing critical in uplifting the standards of living of Kenyans.

Continental Reinsurance is listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and provides support to over 200 insurance companies in Africa.