NCBA Insurance aims to boost Kenya’s low insurance penetration by leveraging NCBA Group’s strong brand, trust, and extensive customer base for growth.
Kenya’s insurance sector is still at the infantry despite being so old. At 2.3 percent penetration rate, lower than the global average of 7.2 percent, Kenya seems to have a long way to go in achieving universal insurance coverage for households.
For years, stakeholders have been pushing Kenyans to take up at least one insurance cover, but the more they pushed, the more the number either remained stagnant or dropped. The main reason for this has been the fact that millions of Kenyans, despite being in need of an insurance cover, have a limited disposable income, hence difficult for them to allocate cash to insurance premiums.
The lack of a strong savings culture has also been blamed for low insurance uptake among Kenyans. In East Africa, Kenya is the leading nation among countries whose citizens save a little for their financial freedom in the future. The majority are living now and letting the future take care of itself.
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Perhaps what has stood out as the main impediment for insurance growth in Kenya is the fact that it emanates from the insurance companies themselves. For instance, most Kenyans have trust issues when it comes to dealing with insurance companies as many have failed to demonstrate adequate trustworthiness. At the same time, the sector has failed to adequately enlighten people about insurance and why it is important for them.
With the above challenges and many others in mind, the launch of NCBA Insurance is set to disrupt the market landscape. The launch of the new outfit came at a time when Kenya’s insurance industry, valued at 309 billion shillings in 2023 and continuing to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10%, needed a fresh infusion of blood.
According to stats, the general insurance market in Kenya alone was valued at 188 billion shillings (approximately $1.3 billion) in 2023 and is expected to achieve a CAGR of more than 9 percent during the period from 2024 to 2028.
As Stella Njunge, NCBA Insurance Managing Director, put it, “The strength of the NCBA brand and its deep local market history will empower us to provide relevant products and services for our customers. With this new brand identity, we are set to drive better understanding of insurance products, demonstrate value for our customers, and accelerate our growth within the insurance sector.”
Adding to the voice, Mr. John Gachora, the Managing Director, NCBA Group, said, “The brand transition will leverage the strengths of NCBA, a well-known and respected financial services brand in Kenya and Africa. NCBA-IG will now become more competitive with amplified positioning in the market and inspire growth as a trusted insurance solutions partner to deliver on the Group`s customer obsession mission focus for 2025.”
Given that NCBA Group serves millions of customers, not just in Kenya but across the region, the coming of this new insurance outfit means that the lender will use its communication prowess to bring the majority of these customers into its insurance fold.
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