Britam, UN agency ink property insurance deal

Britam Group Managing Director Benson Wairegi during an investor briefing in Nairobi last year. PHOTO | SALATON NJAU | NMG

By KEVIN ROTICH
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Summary

• The plan will partly target Kenyans who will be taking up the affordable houses being built by the government and private sector partners.
• Kenya has also been identified as a market with low penetration of property insurance in comparison with other forms of insurance.
• Britam was selected for the programme following a call for proposals that was jointly issued by the ILO’s Impact Insurance Facility and Habitat for Humanity’s Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Shelter.

Listed insurer Britam has partnered with the UN’s International Labour Organisation (ILO) and global non-profit housing organisation Habitat for Humanity International on a new property insurance project targeting low-income and underserved market segments.

The plan will partly target Kenyans who will be taking up the affordable houses being built by the government and private sector partners. Kenya has also been identified as a market with low penetration of property insurance in comparison with other forms of insurance.

Britam was selected for the programme following a call for proposals that was jointly issued by the ILO’s Impact Insurance Facility and Habitat for Humanity’s Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Shelter.

“Across the world, the market for property insurance for low-income segments is relatively nascent. This is also the case in Africa where, in 2015, 4.5 million people had property insurance, significantly fewer than the 46.4 million people covered by life insurance,” said ILO chief of social finance and impact insurance Craig Churchill.

“We are hoping that this partnership will help in unlocking this unmet market potential.”

Britam managing director Benson Wairegi said that the firm has been providing products targeting emerging and underserved segments since 2007 and will ride on this experience when rolling out products under the new project.

ILO and Habitat for Humanity International said that the project will involve developing cost-effective and viable insurance products in the long- term, with the two supporting Britam in the product development cycle by building capacity and establishing distribution and other key partnerships.