Insurance Companies post 19 pc increase in Claims and Settlements

NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 31 – Insurance companies received over 2.1 million claims in the second quarter of 2021 a 19 percent increase compared to the first quarter of the year (1.7 million), according to the April – June 2021 claims report released by the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA).

Reported general liability claims went up by 9.8 percent to 14,766 compared to 13,443 reported in January to March 2021 while general non – liability claims went up by 19.4 percent to 2,000, 281 from 1,674,507 reported in the previous quarter.

The long-term Insurance business posted an 8.5 percent increase in the number of claims reported to 91,978 compared to 84,801 claims reported in the first quarter of 2021.

In the quarter under review, the claims payment ratio for general liability claims increased to 9.3 percent compared to 9.2 percent in the first quarter.

The claims payment ratio for general non-liability claims increased to 65.8 percent in Q2 2021 from 64.7 percent reported in Q1 2021, while the claims payment ratio for the long-term insurance business increased to 73.9 percent compared to 73.7 percent observed in the previous quarter.

Madison Insurance had the highest claims payment ratio in the general liability claims category at 67.2 percent followed by Kenya Alliance Insurance at 65.1 percent while Resolution Insurance company came in third at 32.4 percent.

In the general non-liability claims payment ratio Madison Insurance Company had the highest percentage at 81.6 percent, while AAR Insurance came in second place with 72.7 percent claims payment ratio. Jubilee Health Insurance was third place at 71.2 percent.

IRA has proactively provided a framework for claims settlement which all entities regulated under the Insurance Act should abide by.

This is in recognition of the insurance industry’s central role in the financial services sector, and overall contribution to the country’s economic development matrix.

The regulations require insurers to submit their monthly summary of claims returns within fifteen (15) days after the end of the month to which the returns relate.