Dar es Salaam. NMB Bank Plc and Strategis Insurance yesterday unveiled a new product that relieves transporters of the burden of paying $3,000 (about Sh7.03 million) to container owners as a guarantee.
Dubbed “Container Insurance Guarantee Scheme,” the product will allow the transporters to just insure the containers through the two companies, at a slightly cheaper cost.
A business person or a transport company was obliged to pay around $3,000 to the container owner as a guarantee and also property insurance that covers compensation for property loss during transportation by road or rail.
“This new product will help both individuals and companies as there will be no need to make a deposit for each container but one will have to insure the containers at a slightly cheaper cost,” the head of Bancassurance at NMB, Mr Martin Massawe said in Dar es Salaam yesterday.
He said the product will cover both individuals and companies that transport cargo using 10, 20 and 40 feet containers. The Acting Group CEO for Strategis Insurance Tanzania Ltd, Flora Minja said the company has yielded itself credibility from its clients during the two decades that it has been providing insurance services in Tanzania. “Innovation is one of our core values that is why we came up with the ‘Container Guarantee Insurance scheme’ product into place,” she said.
Gracing the event, the director of supervision from Tanzania Insurance Regulatory Authority (Tira), Mr Abubakar Ndwata said the new product will be a long-term solution to some of the challenges undermining growth of the transport sector.
“This is a very good initiative and we believe it will help to expand the scope of access to insurance for all the stakeholders in the transport sector value-chain and ultimately reduce transportation costs. As you all know, the transport sector is a catalyst to economic development,” he said.
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Britam half-year net profit hits Sh2bn on higher investment income
Insurer and financial services provider Britam posted a 22.5 percent jump in net earnings for the half-year ended June 2024, to Sh2 billion, buoyed by increased investment income.
The rise in half-year net profit from Sh1.64 billion posted in a similar period last year came on the back of net investment income rising 2.5 times to Sh13.27 billion from Sh5.3 billion.
“We are confident in the growth and performance trend that Britam has achieved, supported by its subsidiaries in Kenya and the region. Our business is expanding its revenue base while effectively managing costs,” Britam Chief Executive Officer Tom Gitogo said.
“Our customer-centric approach is fueling growth in our customer base and product uptake, particularly through micro-insurance, partnerships, and digital channels.”
The investment income growth was fueled by interest and dividend income rising 34 percent to Sh9.1 billion, which the insurer attributed to growth in revenue and the gains from the realignment of the group’s investment portfolio.
Britam also booked a Sh3.79 billion gain on financial assets at a fair value, compared with a Sh1.8 billion loss posted in a similar period last year.
The increased investment income helped offset the 12.7 percent decline in net insurance service result to Sh2.13 billion in the wake of claims paid out rising at a faster pace than that of premiums received.
Britam said insurance revenue, which is money from written premiums, increased to Sh17.8 billion from Sh16.6 billion, primarily driven by growth in the Kenya insurance business and regional general insurance businesses, which contributed 30 percent of the revenue.
The group has a presence in seven countries in Africa namely Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Sudan, Mozambique, and Malawi.
Britam’s insurance service expense hit Sh13.6 billion from Sh11.3 billion, while net insurance finance expenses rose 2.6 times to Sh12.3 billion during the same period.
“Net insurance finance expenses increased mainly due to growth in interest cost for the deposit administration business driven by better investment performance. This has also been impacted by a decline in the yield curve, which has led to an increase in the insurance contract liabilities. The increase has been offset by a matching increase in fair value gain on assets,” said Britam.
Britam’s growth in profit is in line with that of other Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed insurers, which have seen a rise in profits.
Jubilee Holdings net profit in the six months increased by 22.7 percent to Sh2.5 billion on increased income from insurance, helping the insurer maintain Sh2 per share interim dividend.
CIC Insurance Group posted a 0.64 percent rise in net profit to Sh709.99 million in the same period as net earnings of Liberty Kenya nearly tripled to Sh632 million from Sh213 million, while Sanlam Kenya emerged from a loss to post a Sh282.2 million net profit.
