This archive report was first published on 17 October 2019.
On October 17, 2019, Nigerian-based firm Continental Reinsurance announced its entry into the agricultural insurance market, marking a significant move into a sector with high loss ratios in markets such as Kenya.
The re-insurer, with operations in Kenya, cited the continent's high potential for agricultural growth as a key driver for the expansion, with the aim of developing more insurance products to support this sector.
According to Group CEO Femi Oyetunji, the company has 'read the signals of our environment and have responded without a doubt.' He emphasized the importance of localisation in expanding product relevance to further build on market development.
The new agricultural insurance cover is expected to deepen Kenya's agricultural insurance market, where annual gross written premiums are below Sh1 billion. Currently, only 10 out of 54 insurers offer cover for crops and livestock, despite agriculture accounting for at least a third of the country's GDP.
Continental Re wants to strengthen its internal capabilities to underwrite Agriculture insurance in Kenya and across the continent, with a focus on building best-in-class internal capabilities and capacity. The global agricultural premiums market stands at around $25 billion, but Africa's share is less than one percent.
