Continental Re calls on stakeholders collaboration to increase insurance penetration in Africa
Leading Pan African reinsurance company, Continental Reinsurance marked its 10-year anniversary in Kenya calling on industry stakeholders to work together to increase insurance penetration on the continent. Continental Reinsurance Plc’s decade-long journey in Kenya has been inspired by various factors; a stable economy, ease of doing business and a comparatively advanced insurance industry. Kenya has the highest insurance penetration in the East African region standing at 3% compared with less than 1% for the whole continent.
Speaking at the occasion, the Group Managing Director, Continental Reinsurance Plc emphasised that ‘we should not focus on competing as industry stakeholders but complementing each other and building a better insurance market. By building partnerships, relationships and working together, we can reap lots of benefits”.
He added that ‘the continent’s low insurance penetration together with the growing population presents great opportunities that we, as stakeholders can tap into especially in sustainable development. Seeing agriculture is a key pillar in the Government of Kenya’s Big Four Agenda, the insurance industry has a key role to play to cushion farmers from loses and boost food security’’.
To contribute to Kenya’s economic agenda, the insurance sector should also support other sectors such as infrastructure, health, housing and manufacturing that that are critical in uplifting the standard of living of Kenyans on the path to becoming an upper middle-income country by 2030.
The 10 years anniversary comes a year after Continental Reinsurance celebrated 30 years of its existence on the continent having grown to become the largest privately-owned pan African reinsurance company. The Kenyan office was set-up in 2008 in line with the company’s organizing principle of localization.
‘’We recognised the need for developing customer-centric solutions. We deliver our services by being a responsive partner and this gives us a competitive edge in the market. We are committed to putting customers first and developing solutions that respond to their ever-changing needs,’’ Oyetunji noted.
Over the years, the Eastern Africa region has proved to be a beacon for reinsurers from across the continent and the globe and this has seen eight reinsurers establish offices in Kenya and a few more who are eyeing the market very closely.
‘’This means we have to work harder to match the expectations of those who support us and impress the consciousness of those who yet do not. Today, Continental Re has some of the best engineering capabilities among reinsurers in Africa, and we offer some of the best capacities in Property and Engineering risks. We are also focusing a lot of energy into identifying how to increase the size of the markets that we serve, rather than simply nibbling away at the existing pie,’’ observed Souvik Banerjea, Managing Director for the Nairobi subsidiary.