East Africa’s largest insurance group, Jubilee Holdings Limited, has signed a deal with Credit Bank in a move that will see the two entities launch education and investment plans through the Bancassurance model.
The plan to be rolled out by Credit Bank through ‘My Friend Insurance Agency’’ seeks to focus on ensuring that customers of both entities build an education fund and a savings portfolio over a period of time through the bank’s Bumblebee Account, as well as Jubilee Insurance’s array of investment and education plans like Fanaka and Career Life Plus.
This will be facilitated through the use of Bancassurance sales officers strategically positioned at the bank’s 17 branches countrywide.
Jubilee Insurance and Credit Bank see this as an opportunity to entrench a saving culture among Kenyans that currently stands at 11.2 per cent of GDP, according to the latest report by the National Treasury.
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Speaking during the signing of the partnership, Jubilee Holdings Regional CEO Dr. Julius Kipng’etich noted that the deal allows the insurer to distribute market driven products through the bank’s infrastructure to all their customers without incurring much costs.
This he said is a critical cog in ensuring that the uptake of insurance is ramped up among various demographics.
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“I am glad to note that since April 2019 when we rolled out this arrangement, we have seen an upsurge in our Gross Written Premiums and number of policies sold especially for the Life and Pension Business. This is an indication that we have started on the right footing and as the year comes to a close, we look forward to even better performance on that front.,” Kipng’etich noted.
Credit Bank CEO Mrs. Betty Korir was categorical that the move by the two financial service providers is a step in the right direction towards offering unique bundled products to their respective customers.
“Whereas insurance in Kenya tends to be perceived as more of an obligation rather than a need, Credit Bank is keen to educate its customers on the fact that one is able to take advantage of the synergies between the two financial service providers to meet various long-term needs,”she noted.
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The latest report by the Association of Kenya Insurers indicates that Life insurance penetration currently stands at about 1.05% and non-life at 1.55%.
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Such partnerships therefore go a long way in laying ground for increased uptake of insurance products thereby boosting the overall consumption of insurance.
Jubilee Holdings is the only ISO certified insurance group listed on the three East Africa stock exchanges – The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange and Uganda Securities Exchange.
It has a network of offices in five countries – Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and Mauritius.
Jubilee Insurance is the largest in East Africa providing insurance services to over 1,900,000 people in the region. It is also the largest provider of medical insurance in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania which includes many of the region’s blue-chip companies.
On the other hand, Credit Bank is a privately-owned financial institution incorporated in Kenya over 30 years ago.
Headquartered in Nairobi, the lender with 17 branches spread across the country is keen on SMEs with a key focus in energy, agriculture and trade sectors.
