Why you need insurance in Kenya? Kenya represents one of the most developed and best-governed insurance sectors, with very strong historic development and great future prospects, but unfortunately, it’s still fragmented, and much competition is hard still. There’s growing regulatory capital requirements ahead, and there’s increasing scope for consolidation, which can mean big savings for you. To maximize your potential, talk to your chosen insurance company and let us help you find the best insurance companies in Kenya.
Whether you’re an expatriate or a local Kenyan, there are certain challenges you’ll face as you set up a home or open an investment firm. The first and most important thing is that you need to get insurance, whether from an expatriate or a local company before you start working in Kenya. Most ex-pats prefer to purchase insurance through their own local insurance company, or through the insurance giant Oriental Bank. Of course, there’s also a huge national insurance company that handles all expatriates’ needs in Kenya. This is probably your best option if you want to have the best coverage for the best price.
However, if you’re looking at insurance Kenya on your own, you should understand the difference between insurance Kenya tailored to you, and general insurance. General insurance is what everyone over 18 in Kenya takes advantage of. It covers almost everything from motor vehicles and personal injury to more expensive risks like terrorist attacks and natural disasters. The premiums tend to be lower than premiums on specialized insurance in Kenya like the one you may need for expatriates. Generally speaking, this type of insurance is for you if you’re an ordinary guy with no particular risk to you.
A specialized insurance policy is a special insurance policy designed for your unique situation. For example, if you are an expatriate currently working in Nairobi but you plan on moving to Mombasa then you would take out a specialized insurance policy to cover you while working overseas. Expatriates working in developing countries do not normally take out such a specialized insurance policy. The cost of specialized insurance in Kenya can vary greatly depending on your age, gender, experience, location, and the amount of coverage you require. You will have to calculate your exact needs so that you can buy the right insurance policy for you at the right price.
Most ex-pats are of the opinion that insurance in Kenya is so expensive that it is simply not worth buying. There are various reasons behind this but one of the major reasons is that most insurance companies in Kenya are foreigners owned and operated. You would find that most of the insurers listed by the World Wide Web are either locals or foreigners owned and operated. In addition to this, since the insurance company will not want to run a loss due to insurance Kenya, the company usually has to charge high premiums. The lack of experience of most insurance company staff and the fact that they are not trained properly are also reasons why insurance Kenya is so expensive. The lack of expertise of most local insurers is also the major reason for the high premium rate since you can not be sure that they are able to handle insurance-related problems if any.
Since insurance in Kenya is so expensive, it becomes necessary for the expatriates to look for an insurance company that can offer them good rates and service. Some of the better-performing insurers are from the informal sector of the market. Since most of the formal insurers have a limited network of contacts with the expatriate community, you can find many insurance companies from the informal sector who can help you get insurance in Kenya. Insurers who belong to the informal sector of the market usually do not have many employees and they normally do not have any offices in remote areas of Kenya.
