Insurance Agents Race to Beat September Deadline for Renewal

Insurance agents are racing to beat the September 30, 2021 deadline set by the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) for renewal of registration.

Those who fail to comply face stiff repercussions. If it is established uponinspectionofaninsurancecompanythattheyare dealingwithorhavedealtwithaninsuranceagentoragencythatis notlicensed, the insurancecompanywillbeliabletopay apenaltyofKES200,000foreveryestablishedcaseinlinewiththeprovisionsofSection67DoftheInsuranceAct.

Names of theregisteredmembersof theinsuranceindustryfor theyear2022shallbepostedon the regulator’s website. Notably,agentswereadvisedto decide on the name they plan to trade with during the year of registration before they apply for 2022 license as the IRA no longer endorses licenses.

In addition, aPrincipal Officeris onlyallowedtorepresent oneinsuranceentityatanyparticular time. 

InsuranceAgentswill need toaccesstheIRAOnlinePortal www.ira.go.keinorder to applyforrenewalofregistrationaswellasupdatetheirprofilewherenecessary.

NewapplicantsarerequiredtopayKES1,000beingregistrationfees. They can apply at any time of the year without being subjected to a penalty. Existing agents are required to pay renewal fee of KES.1,000 and where the application is submitted after the deadline date of 30th September,2021 or where the application is rejected for incompleteness, a penalty of KES.1,000 shall be payable in addition to the renewal fee.

Requirements for Registration for Insurance Agents

• National(ID)orPassportof applicant.
• The minimum professional qualification requirements include COP or ECOP Certificate or COP exemption certificate issued by the College of Insurance or Higher Insurance qualifications Diploma in Insurance, Bachelor of Commerce (Insurance Option), and Chartered Insurance Institute among others are also acceptable.
• Certificate of Incorporation or Registration of Business Names (in case of corporate agents).
• Proof of payment of registration fees including banking slips or MPESA transaction reference numbers.

Procedure for Registration for Existing Users and First-Time Applicants

ForExistingUsers 

• Agentsshouldlogontowww.online.ira.go.keinordertoaccesstheAgents Online Portal.
• Agents MUSTselect the year of registration as “2022″ otherwise, the system will process registration for 2021. This will necessitate applying afresh for the 2022 registration at an extra fee.
• For both the UsernameandPassword,agents should use their National Identification (ID) numbers or Passport numbers depending on the document that was used to create agent profile.

ForNew/Firsttimeapplicants

• Toaccesstheportal,theagentsshouldvisitwww.online.ira.go.keii.ClickonthelinkOnlineServices
• Click on the link AgentsOnlinePortaliv. Click on the link CreateanAccountv. Fill in the “Online User Profile” appropriately and attach the relevant  documents.
• Save the User Profile by clicking on the “Save Profile” button at the  bottom of that page. Once you Save Profile, the browser window will return to the “Home Page”.
• Now log in as an Existing User
• Select the year of registration as “2022
• InserttheUsername: This is the National ID number or Passport Number of the applicant if the Agent is applying as an individual or the principal officer’s National ID number or Passport Number if the applicant is not an individual agent.
• InsertthePassword:This is also the National ID number or Passport Number of the applicant if the Agent is applying as an individual or the principal officer’s National ID number or Passport Number if the applicant is not an individual.
• Upon logging into the account, click the link, “Apply for Registration” viii. To change particulars in your profile, click on ChangeParticulars. Agents MUST provide accurate postaloremailaddressesfor ease of communication with the Authority.
• Trackingyourapplication: Applicants will be able to self-track in order to monitor the progress made by the Authority towards their registration. To do so, agents should click on “TrackStatus”, on the “HistoricalSubmittedApplications“window.
• Viewing,DownloadingandPrintinglicense:The applicant will be able to the processed license for the purpose of self-print. To do so, the agent should click on “viewlicense“. 

Allpayments shallbeineitherofthefollowingmodes: 

MPESAPaybill 

IRAPaybillNo.830300forthepaymentofregistrationfeeand/orpenalty.Pleaseusetheagent‘sregistrationnumberastheaccountnumber.Notetoaddtheyearofregistrationimmediatelyaftertheregistrationnumbere.g.IRA/05/XXXXX/2022.PleaseentertheMpesatransactionreference detailsattheappropriatesectionofthePortal. 

Bank deposit ordirecttransfersto: Kenya Commercial Bank Limited

BankAccountName: Insurance Regulatory Authority

AccountNumber:   1202647413

Branch: Capital Hill

Branch Code: 201

BankCode: 01

SwiftCode: KCBLKENX 

Thedepositslipshallbe scannedandsubmittedtogetherwiththeapplicationasanattachment. 

Aninsurermaymakeconsolidatedpaymentfor registrationofitsagentsandforward the scheduletheagentsforwhom thepaymenthasbeenmade. 

Takenote thatagentswhofail torenewtheirlicensesfor two(2)consecutiveyearswillbederegistered.