Sanlam life insurance gears up for good business as profits shoot up

Sanlam Life Insurance has announced that; the company is set for a business boom, as huge profits are registered.

The revelation was made on Tuesday, by Sanlam Life Insurance Chief executive officer John Lintari, while addressing journalists at their Bugolobi head office, in Kampala.

He said the growth in business is majorly attributed to their partnership with Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) to operate as Bancassurance agent, where they registered many customers, through sale of life insurance products.

“Sanlam Life Insurance is pleased to announce a bonus of 8 percent to all its policy holders, after the insurance company recorded a hefty 142 percent growth in its business in 2018, with a 158 per cent growth in assets”, he said.

He added that Sanlam’s staggering performance in life business is well above the industry growth, which stood at 118 percent in the same financial year and signals the rebirth of Life Insurance following the demerger from General insurance business.

He said; 2018 was an excellent year for Sanlam, due to increased awareness in the life insurance market place, coupled with the entry of commercial banks into the sector which provided a solid alternative distribution channels.

Lintari said that; Sanlam’s success is mainly attributed to the continuous work of the company’s committed intermediaries, mainly agents, who for the past five years have been winning big at the annual; the agent of the year awards organized by the association of insurers, due to their outstanding performance.

“As we celebrate 10 years in the next few months, we will continue to offer quality products and services that have enhanced value to our stakeholders in a fair and transparent way in order to fulfil the goals of our business objectives” , he added.

Anthony Kirimi, Sanlam Chief Finance Officer, said; during the same period, Life insurance business sector grew by 129 per cent, a clear indication that Life business in on the upsurge and may soon become the biggest contributor to growth in the entire insurance industry.

He said the biggest challenge the industry is facing is still low awareness and general mistrust in relation to compensation and payment of claims.

“In order to further increase insurance penetration from the current 0.84 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the industry as a whole must continue to educate and sensitise the market on the benefits of insurance, especially when misfortunes occur”, he said.