Insurers bundle investments with cover as pure insurance uptake stalls
Key points
- Insurers are combining investment features with traditional cover.
- The shift responds to slow uptake of pure protection products.
- Customers must still separate risk cover from investment return promises.
Kenyans buy hope faster than they buy risk transfer. Standard Business reports that insurers are bundling investments with cover as uptake stalls on plain health and life products.
Unit-linked and hybrid products can deepen the market — or confuse buyers who think they bought a savings plan and discover exclusions at claim time. IRA rules on disclosure matter more when marketing leans on “returns.”
What buyers should demand
Clear split of premium into pure risk vs investment, fee tables, and claim examples. Compare with SACCOs and money-market funds for the savings slice.
Low insurance penetration is a national resilience problem; bundling is a sales answer, not a complete policy answer.
Sector risk
Mis-selling hybrids can trigger scandals that set penetration back years. Train agents as fiduciaries, not only closers.
Business contacts: directory.
Based on Standard Business reporting of insurer product strategy.