Kenyan fintech rolls out digital insurance product

 

A Kenyan Fintech firm has launched a digital insurance product aimed mainly at Bodaboda operators in the country.

Chanuka Fintech is supporting the Kenyan underwriters to co-create cutting edge Micro-Insurance products for the mass market.

The firm partnered with Safaricom, Credit bank, Monarch Insurance, Directline Assurance and Britam in rolling out the product last month.

According to CEO Benito Ngugi, insurance is among the areas where a substantial segment of the population has traditionally been excluded and the firms see the use of technology as a means to change this.

“With the using mobile technology and M-Pesa payment, access to cover is available instantaneously. Once we have developed the products we deploy our versatile technology capabilities and knowledge of the bottom of the pyramid to deliver the unbeatable value proposition,” Ngugi told the Star.

He said that they were targeting one million bodaboda riders as well as another one million Kenyans without medical cover.

“These will almost double all the insurance policies in the Market. We believe micro-insurance and digital Insurance are the game-changer in the insurance industry and we are happy to be the market leader in this space,” the CEO noted.

Chanuka Fintech's aim is to make insurance affordable to all through a combination of innovative product development and co-creation, creative technologies including the M-Pesa platform as well as insurance premium financing while allowing people to pay in installments.

The firm, according to the CEO, will use M-Pesa history to analyse credit score to “effectively to pre-qualify customers for insurance premium financing and lower credit risk.

“This has given rise to another very exciting partnership with Credit Bank where we are able to enable customers at the bottom of the pyramid pay for digital insurance through small installments- what we refer to as Malipo Mos Mos,” Ngugi said.

He added that the insurance sector had failed to capture the low and middle-income levels in Kenyans due to the levels of risk attributed to them.

“We have managed to bring elements of technology, partnerships and marketing that have been run separately by most of the industry players. We have also gone for inclusion for users who have previously been ignored or purposely left out,” Ngugi said.