PHOTO CAPTION: The disgraced Monarch Insurance Company is suspected to be on the verge of collapse. Fears are rife that Monarch Insurance could soon be going under.
The company is a composite insurer with products in the general insurance segment as well as the life insurance segment.
Some of the products offered by the company's general insurance section include car insurance, personal accident coverage, WIBA, and contractor all-risk, among others.
Moroccan conglomerate Holmarcom Group, through its holding company, Holmarcom Insurance Activities, acquired a majority stake in the firm associated with a Kanu-era business tycoon, Jared Kangwana, for an undisclosed sum in 2021.
This saw Holmarcom Insurance Activities become the majority shareholder of the company with a stake of 51 per cent along with Kamu Group and Maisha Microfinance Bank.
Over the years, the company has faced endless social media complaints from frustrated clients, some of them featured under this post.
They no longer promptly issue payouts and are always bombarding claimants with endless empty excuses.
Things are so bad that garages across the country are avoiding Monarch Insurance like a bad plague. "Hi, Cyprian, Please look into monarch insurance. Things are not well. They don't pay claims, give excuses, ignoring calls and emails. Wameanza tabia ya Amaco. Hawalipi claims from last year. Taking people in circles mara sijui kuna audit, next kuna change of ownership, mara people are working from home due to Covid-19. Too many excuses. Saa hizi hawashiki calls. Kila mtu anacomplain Garages hawataki kazi zao," an angry source wrote to us on Friday, 11, November 2022.
At one point, the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA), which has proved to be toothless, responded to a disgruntled social media user, saying they would investigate malpractices.
But as is the norm, they did nothing - just as they quietly watched as Resolution Insurance collapsed. From the complaints above, it becomes obvious that the IRA is a toothless watchdog that should be immediately disbanded.
What is the point of its existence if victims keep suffering every day with little to no action?
They have clearly absconded their duty to protect Kenyans from such crooked firms and instead gone to bed with the oppressors.