This archive report was first published on 19 September 2019.
On September 19, 2019, the Managing Director of ZEP-RE, Hope Murera, emphasized the need for the insurance industry to adopt technology to achieve savings and efficiency during the CEO Breakfast forum in Nairobi.
According to Murera, the insurance industry worldwide is undergoing disruption, and Africa is no exception. He stated, “The insurance industry the world over is undergoing disruption. Africa, where we play, is no exception. It is against this background that we have organised this forum to brainstorm and share ideas meant to ensure that the insurance industry players are able to seize opportunities arising from this inevitable disruption,”
Murera added that technology can help the industry develop customized products, improve efficiencies, and lower distribution costs, making insurance more accessible to all. He also mentioned that the industry has been slower to innovate compared to the rest of the financial sector, which has motivated ZEP-RE to champion innovation at the industry level.
The CEO Breakfast was followed by an Insuretech forum, which brought together aspiring and established Insuretech service providers and insurance industry players. Jubilee insurance Chief Executive Julius Kipngetich urged the industry players to consider linking up with innovators, learn from non-direct competitors, and remodel their businesses by moving from selling to marketing.
Kenya Association of Insurers (AKI) Chief Executive Officer Tom Gichuhi said the sector should take innovation seriously to stave off the current decline. He stated, “We have seen this industry going down-down but we don’t seem to know what to do about it. We seem to leave on the hope that tomorrow will be better. The sector needs to think seriously about innovation and do it collaboratively,”
According to the Kenya Association of Insurers (AKI) industry report for 2018, insurance penetration in Kenya dropped to 2.43 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the lowest in more than a decade. The drop in penetration resulted in a 61.56 per cent drop in net profits from Sh9.21 billion to Sh3.54 billion.
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