NCBA is looking to use its branch network, asset finance capabilities and its strength in digital as it gets going after the acquisition of AIG Kenya Insurance Company Limited.

The group’s Managing Director, John Gachora, said strict separations would be made between the newly acquired subsidiary and the in-house bancassurance business.

“One of the commitments we have made is that there will be very strict Chinese walls between our bancassurance business, where they must compete for business with other agents and other brokers, and with AIG, where they must compete for business with the agents, brokers and other underwriters,” said Mr Gachora.

With this acquisition, NCBA Group customers will now conveniently access all their financial products under one roof.

Insurance is increasingly becoming a basic financial need for the type of customers NCBA Group serves. The bank’s physical and digital distribution platforms, combined with AIG Kenya’s insurance capabilities, will unlock opportunities to catalyse deeper insurance market penetration in Kenya and the East African region, a promising prospect for the bank’s stakeholders.

Insurance uptake in Kenya remains low compared to other key economies, with insurance penetration at 2.4 percent as of the financial year 2023, according to the Q4’2023 Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) and the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) 2024 Economic Survey.

According to the Swiss RE Institute, the low penetration rate, which is below the global average of 6.8 percent, is attributable to the fact that insurance uptake is still seen as a luxury and is mostly undertaken only when necessary or a regulatory requirement.

Watch the full story in the video.