The newest entrant to Kenya’s insurance sector, West African
Insurance Companies Associations Reinsurance (Waica-Re) Corporation, is
banking on prompt processing of claims to wrestle a significant share of
the regional terrorism, oil, gas and aviation deals from local rivals.
The
Sierra Leone-headquartered reinsurer, which set up shop in Nairobi this
week, got an operating permit from the Insurance Regulatory Authority
last October after waiting for more than a year.
Waica
Re’s Nairobi office will act as the regional hub for scouting for
underwriting policies inked by insurers in the six-nation East African
Community bloc, officials said.
“We are coming here to
add value, create additional capacity, ensure we service our clients
promptly and meet their needs,” Waica’s group chief executive Ezekiel
Ekundayo said.
“We are ready to train people and if possible even involve insurers in working together to build capacity.”
Besides
the specialised risk covers, the firm will also be scrambling for
motor, fire, marine, engineering and life reinsurance deals.
Colonnade Re
Nairobi
becomes the third unit outside West Africa for growth-hungry Waica Re
which set up an office in Harare last December after acquiring
Zimbabwe’s Colonnade Re for about $5.5 million (Sh555 million) million
for Southern Africa.
That followed the opening of an office in Tunis in July 2017 for North Africa.
Incorporated
in Freetown in March 2011, the firm went on to open regional offices in
Nigeria and Ghana in April 2012 and Côte d'Ivoire a year later, helping
grow revenue to Sh5.7 billion as at end of last year.
The
reinsurer, largely owned by insurance firms in English-speaking Western
African countries, faces competition for the Eastern Africa’s market
from eight other players including Kenya Re, Zep-Re (formerly PTA) and
Continental Re.
“We have to employ state of the art
technology to hasten claims settlement, we will be able to have a
cutting edge as a company. With everything in terms of electronic data,
financial and reinsurance management, we should be able to settle claims
in less than a week” chief executive of Waica Re Kenya Charles Etemesi
said.
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