Uganda’s legal tender. Each of the 501,107 households from 16 vulnerable groups in Kampala metropolitan area, cities and municipalities are slated to each receive Shs100,000. PHOTO/COURTESY Insurance written premiums under Bancassurance increased fourfold for the period ended June 2021, according to data from Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA).
The growth, according to experts, signals the increased importance of the banking sector in the push to improve insurance penetration under Bancassurance.
Introduced about four years ago, Bancassurance has grown tremendously, contributing at least 8.23 per cent of gross written premiums.
According to IRA, the number of both life and nonlife policies grossed at 893,315 during the period, which was a 74 per cent increase from 224,070 in the same period last year.
Life took the largest share, registering a total of 885,322 polices up from 210,248 in same period last year.
However, nonlife declined to 7,993 policies down from 13,822.
During the period, according to IRA, Bancassurance grossed Shs49.3b in written premiums compared to Shs32b in the same period last year.
As a result banks earned $7.8b worth of commission, the bulk of which (Shs5.8b) came from life insurance while nonlife contributed Shs1.9b.
Under Bancassurance, Stanbic wrote more premiums than any bank, registering a combined sum of Shs10.4b for life insurance and nonlife, from which it earned Shs1.9b in commission.
It was followed by dfcu and Housing Finance Bank, which wrote policies worth $3b and Shs2.3b, respectively.
Post Bank and Century Bank wrote premiums worth Shs928m and Shs677m, respectively.
During the period, the insurance sector wrote premiums worth Shs600b, of which Shs49.3b or 8.23 per cent was contributed by Bancassurance.Mr Protazio Sande, the IRA director planning, research and market development, yesterday said the growth was an indication of the increased acceptance of Bancassurance as a channel of insurance distribution.“It shows a gain in traction as Bancassurance is increasingly accepted as an attractive and favorable channel of distribution,” he said, noting that the growth could also have been influenced by a rebound in demand for loans to revive businesses affected by Covid-19. Aggressive marketing According to Mr Christopher Ssengendo, the Uganda Bankers Association Bancassurance Committee chairperson, the growth under Bancassurance could have been influenced by an aggressive marketing strategy, which banks are employing to reach out to both banking clients and potential clients outside the banking sector.