This archive report was first published on 7 June 2020.
Published on June 7, 2020, Kenya Re, a regional reinsurer, is bracing for a significant financial hit due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The company expects to lose KSh1 billion in revenue, with a 5% revenue dip being a worst-case scenario.
The company's Managing Director, Jadia Mwarania, had earlier projected income of KSh19 billion, down from KSh21.1 billion last year.
According to Mwarania, the insurance industry is expected to shrink by 2-3% following slowed GDP growth. The government has projected a GDP growth rate of 2.6% this year.
“…We expect the business to shrink in tandem with the lower GDP growth as projected by the government at the rate of 2.6% this year. On our end, we estimate the industry growth to shrink by at least 2% to 3%,” Mwarania said in an interview.
To make up for the lost revenue, the company will advance its collection of premiums from underwriters and increase dollar reserves to accumulate hard currency reserves awaiting increasing foreign contract claims.
“We are generating weekly reports to monitor targets and performance. At the same time, we have enhanced turn-around times for claim processing to a maximum of 48 hours,” added Mwarania.
