Insurance brokers in digital partnership deal to beat pandemic

The Association of Kenya Professional Insurance Agents (AKPIA) has entered into a partnership with a digital firm in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic.

The partnership with mTek Services, a digital insurance broker, is aimed at promoting uptake of insurance in the face of the pandemic.

mTek Services chief executive officer Bente Krogmann said the deal will provide a digital platform which allows insurance agents to onboard clients, manage them and reconcile accounts digitally, going 100 percent paperless.

"AKPIA members across Kenya can now take advantage of the ease and simplicity of the mTek Agent App," she said.

Insurance agents endorsed the app saying it would be useful at a time containment measures against Covid-19 have been enhanced.

“It’s clear that in times of Covid-19 we need to provide our member agencies with a digital solution which enables them to retain their clients and attract new prospects,” said AKPIA chairperson Clifford Ochieng .

The insurance industry has been under pressure to innovate and outpace existing traditional brick-and-mortar systems.

Local underwriters have often been tipped to adopt insurance-focused technology known as “insurtech” to double coverage of underserved populations from the current three percent.

Ms Bente said insurers should use technology to make products relevant to customers and create new opportunities, or their traditional business models become extinct. Kenya’s mobile penetration hit 100 percent for the first time last year as active customer subscription touched 46.6 million, last December.