According to an article published by the New Vision, UAP Old Mutual has clinched the Market Leadership spot. The article, based on the recently released Financial Statements for the year of 2021, demonstrated that regardless of the low insurance penetration (below 1% mark for years,), UAP Old Mutual manage to lead in terms of revenue. The article compared UAP Old Mutual’s revenue, which was shs 152 Billion in gross written premium, a summation of both their General and Health insurance businesses against the rest. The comparison showed that the closest competitors were Prudential Life at Ushs. 95 Billion, Sanlam at Ushs. 89 Billion, Jubilee Allianz at Ushs. 83 Billion and Britam insurance with Ushs. 70 Billion.
UAP Old Mutual also paid out a whooping Ushs. 67 Billion in net claims to their customers. A feat made possible due to their strong asset base with over UShs. 287 Billion in total assets that translated into Ushs. 84 Billion in shareholder’s equity. For comparison, the closest in claims payment was the Life insurance section of Prudential at Ushs 41 Billion in 2021.
With such high payouts on claims in a market with few willing customers, profits can be quite elusive. Nonetheless, UAP Old Mutual still managed to close the year with Ushs. 26 Billion in Profits before tax. These were driven by both the insurance business and investment income attained within the year.
According to the Managing Director, UAP OLD Mutual Uganda, Stephen Chikovore, the lead is through superior customer experience and retention. ‘We have focused on delivering a superior customer experience through continuous implementation of operational excellence initiatives and customer journey management by implementing and enhancing the touchpoints and feedback mechanisms’ explained Chikovore. Furthermore, UAP Old Mutual is a subsidiary of Old Mutual Limited based in South Africa which has been in operation for over 177 years and is in 13 countries. The growth of the business and becoming market leaders is also attributed to the experience the company has in the sector, a wide variety of insurance products and capacity to underwrite special risks.
It is also important to note that UAP Old Mutual’s growth has been a result of the strategic alignment of service and product development to the projected key economic drivers. A report published by PWC titled The road to recover: Building economic resilience highlighted digital transformation as a key enabler for economic transformation and improvement in efficiency and productivity. UAP Old Mutual is strongly driving digital transformation to offer customers superior, quick, and seamless customer experience and solutions. An example of the digital solutions that the company recently added to their array of digital solutions is the online salvage bidding site where customers have instant access to bid for motor and electronic salvage products online.
The insurance industry seems to be on the right path in playing catch-up with other sectors of the financial sector such as banking that are rooted in the economy with more customers. It now remains up to the market leaders such as UAP Old Mutual to set the pace and exponentially grow the insurance sector.
