Insurance

The insurance industry is governed by the Insurance Act and regulated by the Insurance Regulatory Authority.

In 2007, there were 43 insurance companies and 2 locally incorporated reinsurance companies licensed to operate in Kenya. Of the licensed insurance companies, 20 were general insurers, 7 long term insurers and 15 were composite (both life and general) insurers. In addition, there were 201 licensed brokers, 21 medical insurance providers (MIPS), 2,665 insurance agents, 23 loss adjusters, 1 claims settling agent, 8 risk managers, 213 loss assessors/investigators and 8 risk managers in 2007.

Short term business continues to dominate the Kenyan market with its premiums making approximately 70% of the of gross written premium (including deposit administration contributions) in 2007.

The gross premium written in 2007 (including deposit administration contributions) amounted to Shs 47 billion distributed as follows:

The table below shows the assets and liabilities for the insurance industry in Kenya as at 31 December 2007:

*Source: AKI 2007 Report

Claims

Kenyan insurance companies generally report high loss ratios. Between 2004 and 2007, the loss ratios for the industry as a whole ranged between 56% and 60%. Insurers have traditionally relied on investment income to act as a cushion for their underwriting results.