After recording an impressive growth of 42% in business and 58% in assets in 2018, Sanlam Life insurance has offered a bonus of 8% to its policy holders.
The Sanlam Life Chief Executive Officer, John Lintari attributed the growth to increased awareness in the market for life insurance and the entry of banks as new channels of distribution mainly through bancassurance
“2018 was an excellent year for Sanlam due to increased awareness in the life insurance market place coupled with the entry of commercial banks into the sector which provided a solid alternative distribution channel,” Lintari said during a press conference held at their offices in Bugolobi on Tuesday.
He further added that Sanlam’s success is also due to the continuous work of the company’s committed intermediaries, mainly agents, who for the past 5 years have been winning big at the annual the agent of the year awards organized by the Insurers Association of Uganda s due to their outstanding performance.
“As we celebrate 10 years in the next few months, we will continue to offer quality products and services that have enhanced value to our stakeholders in a fair and transparent way in order to fulfill the goals of our business objectives,” Lintari said.
He noted that the biggest challenge the industry is facing is still low awareness and general mistrust in relation to compensation and payment of claims.
“In order to further increase insurance penetration from the current 0.84% of the GDP, the industry as a whole must continue to educate and sensitize the market on the benefits of insurance especially when misfortunes occur. The industry must also honor their obligations on time so that the market can gain confidence in insurance products and services,” he said.
Since October 2017, Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) has licensed 17commercial banks to operate as bancassurance agents and there are more partnerships that continue to be developed between insurers and banks to ensure accessibility to insurance products.
During the same period, industry life insurance business grew by 129%, a clear indication that Life business in on the upsurge and may soon become the biggest contributor to growth of Uganda’s insurance industry.
By Drake Nyamugabwa
