By Lola Okulo
KENYA's insurance industry grew by 20.4 per cent in 2013 which according to the Association of Kenya Insurers was one of the highest globally.
In an industry report released yesterday by AKI, the local insurance industry's gross written premium rose to Sh130.65 billion last year from Sh108.54 billion giving it the highest growth rate by percentage in Africa and the second best in the world after Jordan.
South Africa's insurance industry which is the biggest in the continent grew by 17 per cent while Jordan had the highest growth rate globally at 24 per cent. Insurance penetration in the local market increased to 3.44 per cent from 3.16 per cent in 2012.
"It is a remarkable improvement," said AKI chairman Justus Mutiga yesterday noting that the average penetration for Europe last year was 6.82 per cent while Africa's was three per cent.
The report which also draws data from a Swiss Re global industry survey showed that Kenya's insurance density -the measure of premium per capita- stood at $35, way below South Africa's $1025. However, Kenya's insurance density was still higher than regional economic giant Nigeria where this rate stood at $11.
While releasing the report, AKI's executive director Tom Gichuhi decried cut throat competition in the motor and group life classes of insurance which led these sections to perform dismally last year due to price undercutting. Motor insurance recorded a loss of over Sh600 million while group life's growth was lower than that recorded in 2012.
Group life insurance recorded gross premium income of Sh11.12 billion compared to Sh10.03 billion translating to an increase of 10.9 per cent, compared to the previous year's rise of 37.4 per cent.
Source: The Star
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