Turaco, Africa’s leading insurtech company breaks barriers to become the first insurtech in Uganda to acquire an underwriting license.
Turaco Microinsurance Company (“Turaco Microinsurance”) aims to be the leading provider of affordable and simple microinsurance products, reaching unserved and underserved Ugandans in line with its global mission of insuring 1 billion people.
Turaco Microinsurance joins the field of insurance willing to design and distribute simple products that target the key risks mass-market customers face, with policies starting at just 1,000 Ugandan shillings per month.
Through its customer-centric approach, Turaco Microinsurance will offer terms and conditions that are simple enough to fit 3 SMS messages, such that even first-time insurance customers are able to understand their policy and what is covered.
As an underwriter, Turaco Microinsurance will also make it easy to sign up by integrating with distribution partners’ systems via API. Customers will be able to access insurance through a simple touch of a button. Furthermore, Turaco Microinsurance will process and facilitate the payment of claims in just hours, building customer trust in the insurance and the insurance industry.
Speaking during the official launch on Tuesday at Golden Tulip Kampala, Hamza Mutebi, Turaco Microinsurance Company General Manager and Principal Officer, said, “Today is a big day for Turaco. From our humble beginnings as an agency to now an underwriting entity, we are proud of acquiring our license. It is a major milestone.”
Mr Mutebi alluded that acquiring an underwriting license is a huge mail stone for the Turaco family because it will allow them to both design and distribute affordable products that are simple and accessible.
“We are also going to expand our reach to even more underserved people and leverage our technology to quickly pay claims using simple channels such as WhatsApp.”
Calling for the prioritisation of innovation in microinsurance, Bernard Obel, Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) Director Supervision, said, “Microinsurance aims to benefit a population group that often lacks knowledge about insurance. As regulators, we must facilitate insurers in developing simple products that the poor can easily understand.”
Mr Obel noted that Turaco has been a key facilitator in increasing insurance access to the mass market through distribution. As regulators, they will work with them and the insurance industry as a whole, to develop products, define governance, and establish service standards.
While handing over the license to Turaco staff, the State Minister of Finance for Investment and Privatization Evelyn Anite who was the guest of honour welcomed Turaco in the game and appreciated their idea and strategy of breaking the insurance idea much easier up to the low-income earners.
“We need to insure ourselves and they have broken it down and made it so easier and cheap because we grew up thinking that insurance is for well-to-do people but I’m happy that with Turaco they have a product costing as low as Shs500. And I want to thank you whereas your competitors are concentrated in the capital city, you have decided to go to the upcountry. And that is where you will get money to support your programs,” she said.
She added that in the absence of National Health Insurance, Turaco has stepped in and she urged Ugandans to always insure their health because free things and services are no longer existing in the health sector.
Health emergencies can be devastating for base-of-the-pyramid households in Africa, as low financial resiliency often leaves them vulnerable to unplanned health costs. Without appropriate methods to cope with financial shocks, an alarming 14 million low-income households are pushed into poverty every year due to out-of-pocket health expenditures.
In Uganda over 15 per cent of the population experiences a catastrophic, health-related expense each year. Insurance. a key tool for mitigating risk and increasing resiliency, is not widespread, with only 2 per cent of people living in sub-Saharan Africa currently insured. In Uganda, less than 1 per cent of the population is insured.
Leveraging the success of Turaco’s embedded, technology-enabled insurance distribution approach, Turaco Microinsurance looks to increase insurance coverage in Uganda. The company plans to bring the strength of Turaco’s technology: simple policy sign-up and fast claims processing via WhatsApp and combine it with the ability, as an underwriter, to design innovative and affordable products.
What you should know about Turaco
Turaco Microinsurance Company is the Ugandan underwriting arm of Turaco Group, a Pan-African embedded insurtech driving financial resilience in emerging markets with simple and affordable health and life insurance for the underserved population.
It was founded in 2019, Turaco is present in Kenya, Uganda, and Nigeria. Turaco partners with leading mobile network operators (MNOS) and technology-enabled companies as well as microfinance institutions to distribute simple and affordable insurance products for their customers.
With Turaco, individuals can secure insurance coverage with premiums starting as low as $1 per month. Turaco processes claims in less than three business days, ensuring customers receive their money when they need it the most.
With a vision to insure 1 billion lives in Africa, Turaco has insured more than 1 million lives and has facilitated the payment of more than 15,000 claims to date.
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