Stanbic Bank retains 22% Bancassurance market lead

Bancassurance contributed Shs 103.5 billion to the Shs 1.1 trillion Gross Written Premium (GWP) recorded by Uganda’s insurance sector in 2021 with Stanbic Bank accounting for 22 per cent to consolidate its position as market leader.

Bancassurance is the sale of life assurance and other general insurance products through commercial banking institutions; in 2020, bancassurance sales contributed only Shs 32 billion to the Shs 1.06 trillion GWP recorded by the country’s insurance sector.

Stanbic Bank Uganda’s Bancassurance agency dominated other commercial bank players in a small but steadily growing business unit, with the lender aggregating Shs 22.5 billion in GWP, equivalent to 22 percent of the total market share.

Thebank generated Shs 8.1 billion in short-term general insurance premiums and Shs 14.5 billion in life insurance premiums to cap a year of growth amidst stiff competition.

Stanbic Bank also paid out the most claims in 2021 with life insurance claims paid on behalf of various insurance companies amounting to Shs 5.6bn and Shs 1.5Bn in general insurance claims.

According to the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) the insurance industry enjoyed a generally good year with GWP for both life and non-life cover growing by 11 per cent mostly boosted by a 22 per cent increase in Life Gross Written Premiums.

Makonese Tichaona, Stanbic Bank’s Head of Wealth and Insurance for the East African region has welcomed the performance noting that in a competitive market where the various bancassurance agencies continue striving to improve their solutions, Stanbic’s Bancassurance business  managed to be consistent in its delivery by focusing on client-centred solutions.

Makonese added that through leveraging data science SBIA has been able to craft   tailor made solutions to address client needs. The affordable five-in-one Business Comprehensive cover that addresses the needs of the SMME to the business community is a case in point.

Dogo Singh Sherman, Stanbic Bank Uganda’s Manager for Bancassurance said: “We are pleased to retain our market share in a small but growing bancassurance business and 2022 offers us another challenging opportunity to consolidate our position we will continue to innovate through unique partnerships with the customer at the centre of everything we do.”