Nairobi, Kenya: The insurance regulator has deregistered 11 insurance agents for failing to comply with the licensing requirements.
Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) chief executive officer, Sammy Makove
The Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) also banned two medical insurers and one risk assessor from operating after they failed to meet licensing requirements.
In a media advert yesterday IRA said the brokers are not allowed to transact or handle any new or old business with effect from January 13. These are Masionda Insurance Brokers Ltd, WayHead Insurance Brokers Ltd, Sifa Insurance Brokers Ltd, Zawaam Insurance Brokers Ltd, Jani Associates Insurance Brokers Ltd and Salama Insurance Brokers Ltd.
Others are Kingsgate Insurance Brokers Ltd, Branton Insurance Brokers Ltd, Mutwaninsurance Brokers Ltd, Serora Insurance Brokers Ltd and Privileadge Pure Insurance Brokers Ltd.
The IRA renews licenses of all insurance industry players annually as a way to scrutinise their viability to forestall problems such as firms collapsing with clients’ money among others. The blacklisted health insurance underwriters are Prosperity Health Kenya and Discovery Health East Africa.
Challenges
Risk Solutions Assessors is the only insurance surveyor that has been struck off the IRA list of insurance businesses.
Last year IRA gave licenses to 154 brokers, 26 insurance surveyors and 23 medical insurance firms. All the brokers, medical insurers and the risk assessor that have been de-registered for 2013 business had also failed to secure a license last year.
Insurance industry in the country is faced by several challenges such as low use of information communication technology, low penetration of life Insurance, low levels awareness on insurance matters, negative perception of insurance business by the public poor corporate governance practice within the insurance industry, lack of innovation and overcapacity.
Consequently IRA developed a five-year strategy that spells out how the authority intends to meet these.
By James Anyanzwa, The Standard
