Minister of state for finance (General Duties), Gabriel Ajedra Aridru (L) hands over the award to Steven Adrapi, Head of Sales and Marketing at ICEA General Insurance Co and Gabriel Kuria (R) CEO ICEA General Insurance..
The Insurance Regulatory Authority Chief Executive Officer, Ibrahim Kaddunabbi Lubega has given a positive outlook of Uganda’s insurance sector.
Speaking on the sidelines of the inaugural Annual Insurance Innovation Awards held at Serena Hotel Kampala on December 18, 2020, Kaddunabbi said the speed at which the sector has been growing in the last 10 years gives a promising future.
“The future is very bright for the insurance sector in Uganda,” Kaddunabbi said, adding: “Insurance sector is growing at average rate of 18% per year and this is based on premiums underwritten.”
He noted that premiums underwritten have grown to Shs957bn in 2019, up from Shs240bn in 2011.
“This is almost a trillion and to us that is promising. It shows we are doing the right things. We only need to do better,” he said.
On innovation awards, Kaddunabbi noted that insurance players should at all times emphasize innovation and do things better.
“We want to ensure that all processes have are re-engineered,” he said, adding that without innovation, the sector is bound to fail, a thing they don’t want.
He added that the awards are guided by IRA’s strategic plan that emphasizes innovation.
“We have to serve clients better,” he said.
He revealed that Uganda needs a national insurance policy to guide the country.
“The Policy is now ready; it’s going to the board of IRA and thereafter to Ministry of Finance and then cabinet,” he said, adding that Government hasn’t been insuring its properties and assets “yet it’s the biggest consumer of anything you can put on market.”
He explained that if Uganda’s achieves the middle income status, there’s no doubt more people will embrace insurance which will increase the country’s penetration from the current 0.8%.
“With innovation, insurance uptake will increase. In the next 10 years, we envisage a penetration rate of not less than 2% if national insurance policy and national health insurance policy are passed,” he said.
Speaking at the awards gala, IRA Board Chairperson Dr. Isaac Nkote also emphasized the importance of innovation.
“Innovate or perish,” Nkote told insurers, noting that the future is now hinged on technology.
He noted that the awards are aimed at identifying, recognising and reward outstanding innovators in the insurance industry in Uganda.
He added that the Awards are also aimed at providing knowledge and information by sharing best practices, experiences and expertise.
“The Awards will foster innovation and creativity in improving products and services in the insurance sector value chain,” he said, adding that the Awards are also aimed at building awareness and confidence on how insurance works to the public, NGO’s, Donors and the civil society among others.
The Awards
Categories of the Awards included; Most Innovative Insurance Product Award, Most Innovative Insurance Broker Award, Most Innovative Bancassurance Agent Award, Innovative Life Insurance Agent of the year, Innovative Non-Life Insurance Agent of the year and Most Innovative Loss Assessor/Adjustor/Risk Manager.
The awards were coordinated by Global Consulting Services (GCS) on behalf of the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA). MAMM & Associates were the independent auditors for the entire process to ensure transparency and fairness.
Alfred Anwangkane, the Managing Partner at MAMM & Associates, Certified Public Accountants of Uganda, said they were appointed as independent auditors of the awards to provide assurance that the selection process was transparent, fair and free of bias.
“As a firm, we are happy to be part of this exercise and we confirm our independence. We worked with the Consultant (Global Consulting Services), the panel of judges, and the regulator (IRA) and we observed and reviewed the entire process,” he said, adding: “We are happy to report and confirm that the entire awards process was transparent, fair and free of bias. We congratulate all the participants and the winners of the different award categories as they show case the various innovations. This we believe will lead to increased uptake of insurance services.”
MAMM & Associates has been in existence for over 9 years and serves a wide range of local and multinational clients cutting across different sectors of the economy providing Audit, Tax and business Advisory Services.
Winners
These are the winners for all the categories.
Most Innovative Insurer 2020
LIFE
1. Prudential Assurance Uganda Limited
Runner- up: ICEA Life Assurance Company Limited
NON-LIFE
1. ICEA General Insurance Company
Runner- up: Alliance Africa General Insurance Ltd
Most Innovative Insurance Broker 2020
1. Minet Uganda Limited
Runner- up: Legacy Insurance Services Ltd
Most Innovative Bancassurance Agent
1. Housing Finance Bank
Runner- up: Diamond Trust Bank Uganda Limited
Most Innovative Insurance Agent 2020
Turaco Insurance Limited
