BY PAUL TENTENA
KAMPALA, UGANDA- Little awareness about the different insurance products and benefits is proving to be a key factor hampering Uganda’s life insurance penetration.
Sector players said in Kampala that though this is still a key factor, life insurance uptake is steadily increasing as awareness is being intensified.
Arjun Mallik the CEO Prudential Uganda, who spoke to the media about the company’s declaration of Ush1.5b in bonuses to their customers said they have registered an average growth rate of 322% over the last two years since they bought out Goldstar Life Insurance.
“Our premiums have grown from Ush390m to the provisional figure of Ush7b,” said Mallik.
Uganda’s insurance penetration – all the money spent on buying insurance remained at equivalent to less than 1% of the economy as majority of the population do not have insurance covers. At this level, it is the lowest in the East African region. Kenya’s insurance penetration now stands at 3.4%, Tanzania, 2.3% in Tanzania, and Rwanda 1%. The average penetration for Africa is 6%.
Uganda’s insurance industry currently has 29 insurance companies; including 21 firms for non-life general insurance and 8 firms for life assurance business, and one re-insurer.
Mallik said the bonuses are added to the guaranteed amount and paid upon maturity of the policy, loss of life or disability.
According to the Insurance Regulatory Authority 2017 half year provisional report, life insurance generated premiums worth Ush75b in 2017, up from Ush60b in the same period in 2016.
