Orient Bank has partnered with Prudential and International Air Ambulance
(IAA) to officially launch a combined Medical and Life Insurance cover dubbed MedLife.
This is a totally new product compared to what is already on the market which separates Medical and Life Insurance into two products.
Speaking at the launch at their Nyonyi Gardens Corporate Branch on
Wednesday, Orient Bank Managing Director Julius Kakeeto said that the move is aimed at providing affordable health solutions not only to customers, but also their dependants.
“While the healthcare system in Uganda has improved over the years, it has also become more expensive given the rising cost of living. The purpose of the MediLife insurance cover is to lessen the burden on our customers who have people they care for, enabling them to save more while ensuring that their dependants have access to the best medical facilities in the country,” Kakeeto said.
Under this cover, customers can deposit monthly premiums of as low as Shs59,000 for the account holders or spouse and Shs50,000 for children.
Arjun Mallik, the Managing Director Prudential East Africa said, “We are pleased to partner with Orient Bank and IAA on this product, MediLife because this partnership is a reinforcement of our mantle: ‘Let’s face life together’. As Julius has said, we need a healthy population for the economy to thrive and therefore any honest innovation towards ensuring this happens is definitely one that we are excited to be part of and support.”
According to the Insurance Regulatory Authority Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Ibrahim Lubega Kaddunabbi, banks are doing a tremendous job to increase insurance penetration although the sector is still plagued with lack of awareness and understanding of the various products available in the market
“As an industry, last year we realized growth across the board. We saw life insurance business grow from Shs168bn in 2017 to Shs216.9bn in 2018, while the Health Membership Organisation (HMOs) grew from Shs52.7bn in 2017 to Shs69.1bn in 2018. This means there is an increased appreciation and therefore uptake of life and health insurance across,” he explained
The 2018 Finance Sector Deepening Uganda (FSDU) Thematic
Report on Insurance states that 59% of Uganda’s population remains uninsured in any form.
By Aloysious Kasoma
