Prioritise micro-insurance to poor communities – Govt

Insurance companies have been asked to partner with financial institutions to promote Insurance uptake in the country.

Insurance penetration in Uganda has remained at below 1% for years partly because of the perception within the public domain that insurance players do not easily pay or compensate policyholders when losses occur.

The manager micro-finance institutions, at the Uganda Microfinance Regulatory Authority, Vanesa Muhwenzi says this should be done by coming up with insurance products that are affordable for low-income earners to buy insurance policies since they make up the majority of the population.

She says the insurance products should mainly focus on providing health insurance to the underserved communities which are estimated to be only 500,000 Ugandans with health Insurance coverage, out of 45 million people in Uganda.

She made the remarks while officiating at the launch of a partnership where Turaco Insurance has partnered with Letshego -Uganda a microfinance company to provide health insurance coverage to the Letshego Microfinance clients.

Health insurance is currently the fastest-growing class of insurance business in Uganda, and It has gained appeal for most corporate organizations over the years because it is a strong bargaining tool for employers and has proven to increase staff productivity.

Written by Moses Ndhaye