Uganda’s insurance sector total premiums rise to Shs1.6 trillion in 2023

Uganda’s insurance industry saw robust growth, with total premiums rising from Shs1.440 trillion in 2022 to Shs1.603 trillion in 2023, marking an 11.29 percent increase.

Health Membership Organisations (the Mono-line, facility-based Medical Insurance providers) generated Shs56.3 billion up from Shs38.2 billion in 2022.

In the year 2023, non-life business generated Shs932 billion in Gross Written Premiums (GWP), up from UShs 898 billion in 2022, representing a 3.79 percent growth.

While releasing the 2023 Insurance Sector Performance Report in Kampala on Friday, the Chief Executive Officer of the  Insurance Regulatory Authority of Uganda (IRA), Ibrahim Kaddunabbi Lubega, said the rise reflects heightened business activities, underscoring the sector’s resilience and its pivotal role in the country’s economic landscape.

Life insurance business on the other hand generated UShs611.4 billion in Gross Written Premiums (GWP) in 2023, up from UShs 501.6 billion in 2022, representing a 21.9 percent growth in premiums.

Kaddunabbi hailed the trend when life insurance is becoming the leader, saying this is because people are becoming more aware of the importance of life insurance.

Microinsurance plays a crucial role by providing financial protection to vulnerable populations against unexpected events, thereby promoting resilience, inclusivity, stability, and the ability to recover from economic setbacks. Microinsurance companies grew at 15.57 percent, generating UShs 0.707billion in 2023 up from UShs 0.611billion in 2022.

As a result, insurance companies paid out over Shs820 billion in claims in 2023. This  was more than half (51.17 percent) of the total amount of money that the insurance policy holders paid to the insurance companies (Gross Written Premiums).

Kaddunabbi Lubega said the sustained and high increase in the payouts is due to the policy measures aimed at ensuring that no insurance company fails or refuses to pay a claim without a genuine reason. Haji Kaddunabbi says that the focus on claim payments by the industry was informed by the fact that when the public feels the insurance companies are reluctant to pay, they also lose the trust in the industry as not meant to serve the needs of the civilians.