Sanlam Kenya has stepped up its market development efforts to raise the local insurance penetration rates through corporate partnerships. As part of the efforts, Sanlam Kenya is pursuing agreements with corporate organisations to facilitate life and general insurance premium payments via check-off systems.
Riding on the Sanlam PayPoint platform linked directly to corporate and institutional organisations, the firm will manage to securely receive insurance premiums voluntarily deducted on a check-off system from its customers.
Speaking in Kisii during a corporate partners’ forum, Sanlam Kenya Group Managing Director Mugo Kibati said the firm has adopted cutting edge IT systems to run the check-off option for premium payments.
Currently, Sanlam Kenya has established 700 check-off linkages with savings and co-operative societies and corporates. The firm plans to double the number as it seeks to enhance its corporate efficiency and product distribution capacity.
“We are borrowing heavily from our group and global best practices. In many developing countries, insurance premium payments for life and related products are conventionally deducted via check off systems,” Mr Kibati said.
The firm partnerships with local banking institutions, which are providing bancassurance services powered by Sanlam Kenya. During the function, the Kisii County Government, announced plans to integrate risk management solutions as part of its social-economic development plans.
Kisii Governor James Ongwae, in a speech read on his behalf by the Kisii County Government Chief of Staff, Mr Henry Nyanchoka, noted that the poor adoption of insurance products by SMEs has continued to impoverish local traders.
“Such services including life and general insurance products provide a most important safeguard to the various risks we face everyday,” he said. “They provide a recovery path for our hardworking SME’s and even individuals engaging in business.”
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Citing the case of the recent 11-storey building collapse in Kisii town, Ongwae expressed regret that local traders continue to suffer heavy losses with minimal recourse to commercially available risk management options.
The Governor regretted that most of the victims at the site, including the small-scale traders had no insurance cover to manage the risk and now face a very bleak future. “For this reason, I have directed my Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning to consider seeking a viable option to compel all small and Medium Enterprises in Kisii County to consider holding insurance covers for risk management,” Ongwae said.
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