Insurance industry stakeholders are urging insurers and intermediaries to improve claims handling as Kenya’s insurance sector seeks to convert recent growth into higher public trust and wider uptake. The calls were made this week in Naivasha during Minet Kenya’s inaugural Claims Conference, held on March 19, 2026, according to a press release from the firm.

The conference brought together insurers, the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA), claims assessors, loss adjusters and other market players to discuss gaps and best practices in claims management. The meeting comes after what stakeholders described as sustained growth in 2025, with industry assets surpassing KES 1 trillion and premium volumes reaching KES 352.29 billion by the third quarter of 2025, as cited in the release.

The press release said regulators have attributed the sector’s recent expansion to innovation and a growing recognition of insurance as a financial protection tool. However, it added that insurance penetration remains just above 2% of GDP, below the global average of 7%, underscoring what it described as a persistent confidence gap despite rising premium volumes.

At the conference, participants argued that the claims experience is central to how customers judge the value of insurance. They pointed to the need for clear communication, transparency and faster settlement processes as key to improving trust, particularly as product distribution and payments have increasingly moved onto digital and mobile channels.

Minet Kenya Chief Executive Officer Sammy Muthui said customer understanding and fragmentation across the claims ecosystem remain major sources of friction. “The two biggest gaps that have been known to bring friction between insurers and customers are knowledge and silos. When we place insurance covers for clients, they do not always fully understand the terms and conditions. As a result, expectations may not be met, leading to disappointment and frustration at the point of claim,” Muthui said.

He added that multiple parties involved in claims processing often operate independently, which can delay settlement. “On silos, there are many players in the ecosystem, including clients, insurance risk advisors, insurance companies, loss adjusters, loss assessors, insurance investigators and reinsurance companies. Because these players often operate in silos, there is insufficient collaboration, which can affect the smooth settlement of claims,” Muthui said.

The stakeholders also discussed technology as a way to reduce delays and disputes. The press release cited digital platforms, automation and improved data management as tools for modernising claims operations, and pointed to artificial intelligence as a potential enabler for risk assessment, fraud detection and processing efficiency.

The IRA said it is putting more emphasis on market conduct and fairness in customer treatment. Insurance Regulatory Authority Market Conduct Director Anne Chelagat said the regulator has developed a framework to guide insurer-customer relationships from onboarding through to claims. “We have developed a Treating Customers Fairly framework that provides a clear pathway for how customers should be treated throughout their journey, from onboarding to the point of making a claim,” Chelagat said.

She said the regulator is shifting towards more proactive oversight. “We are now placing greater focus on market conduct by becoming more proactive rather than reactive. This includes reassessing the relationship between insurers and their customers from the outset, as well as how both parties conduct themselves, to ensure that when a claim arises, due process is followed and the customer is treated fairly,” Chelagat said.

For Kenya’s insurance market, improved claims outcomes could influence customer retention and help lift penetration, particularly among households and small businesses that remain underinsured. Industry efforts to digitise claims could also drive operational efficiencies, but will likely require stronger data governance and better coordination among insurers, intermediaries, assessors and investigators.

Minet Kenya said stakeholders at the conference reaffirmed a commitment to working more closely across the ecosystem, with the regulator pushing operational tools aimed at translating sector growth into improved customer outcomes. The next test will be whether insurers adopt common service standards and invest in end-to-end claims transformation that matches the pace of innovation in distribution.