Prudential eyes expansion into medical underwriting

Leading global insurer Prudential is eyeing an expansion into medical underwriting in its African markets including Kenya.

The underwriter which on Monday joined the Nairobi International Finance Centre (NIFC) says venturing into the medical business can help firm up growth in the region.

“For a lot of people in Africa, the cost of out-of-pocket expenses on medical care is very high. It is a product that is guessed regularly and this can be a great way of introducing our insurance brand to a wider group of consumers than maybe life insurance which may be limited to a smaller proportion of the population,” noted Prudential Africa Chief Operating Officer Nick Holder.

“We are focused on insuring people. For us, this would include life and medical insurance. We do not have interest in insuring cars and buildings.”

In Kenya, Prudential first provided Life Insurance in 1930 when it set up its East African Business Centre in Nairobi.

The underwriters business would grow in 2014 through the acquisition of Shield Assurance - a curve out of Blue Shield’s life insurance business.

According to file-ins by the company with the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA), Prudential Life Assurance Kenya Limited had an asset base of Ksh.1.956 billion at the end of 2020 with a 0.76 per cent of the long-term insurance business segment.

The underwriter had 13,561 active life policies in the period with Ksh.156 billion sums assured and annuities.

Prudential views Kenya as its launch pad to seven other markets including Uganda, Zambia, Nigeria, Ghana, Cote D’ivoire, Togo and Cameroon and has announced plans to establish its African headquarters in Nairobi.

“Kenya, excluding South Africa, is the largest insurance market in Sub-Saharan Africa. At the moment, it is a relatively small company. We are still outside the top 10, ideally we would like to be among the top five insurers in the country,” added Mr. Holder.