Insurance to be sold at Kenyan supermarket tills

The products will be sold through a local chain, Uchumi Supermarkets. Buyers will not pay extra fees when they purchase cover at the till, but rather UAP will pay Uchumi an agency fee. The products will be sold first in Kenya, later in UAP regional branches in Uganda and Tanzania. Uchumi also has branches in the two neighbouring countries, offering the insurer a regional vendor synergy. The products available at the supermarket till include personal accident covers, worldwide travel covers, golfer’s insurance cover, medical covers and domestic packages. The new distribution system relies heavily on information technology, with buyers required to send a product code to a UAP mobile paybill number using short messaging text (SMS) to activate the cover within 24 hours.hideUAP Insurance has been pioneering the use of IT in Kenya’s insurance industry, not only to minimise fraud as in biometric medical insurance cards, but also as a channel of distribution. “For us, the use of technology is very important to prevent fraud and increase our distribution capability,” said UAP Managing Director James Wambugu. “After successfully piloting the use of mobile technology four years ago to simplify insurance, we decided to enhance UAP’s product offering further by venturing into the realm of mobile applications,” he said. As part of the deepening use of IT, the company has introduced into the market the first mobile application that will enable customers to buy medical insurance. The application is known as AfyaImara app. AfyaImara is a Kiswahili word meaning good health. The product will also be available for purchase from the stores on Android enabled platforms on mobile phones, tablets and computers where buyers will download the application for free and buy the product or continue subscription. The new products have a lifespan of one month, rather than the predominant one-year general insurance products common in the Kenyan market, a win for short-term insurance buyers. For instance to buy a personal accident cover valid for one month, buyers will spend $2.30, an amount affordable to most Kenyans, for a cover worth $1,176. The same costs apply for the medical insurance cover. “We established that sometimes consumers can only afford to cover for a limited period of time and need a flexible plan that meets their budgeting habits,” said Mr Wambugu. The new products are expected to trigger further innovation in Kenya’s highly competitive insurance market. It will also result in increased insurance penetration that currently stands at 3.1%, according to the Association of Kenya Insurers. While many insurance companies have attempted to launch mass market products in Kenya, failure of mass uptake of such products is blamed on squeezed marketing budgets, especially for smaller companies. UAP is however the third largest insurance company by market share in Kenya, commanding market size of 7.7% in general insurance and has investor backing that will help finance the marketing campaign.

Insurance to be sold at Kenyan supermarket tills

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