Four admitted to IRA’s sandbox as insurers are asked to innovate or die
Insurance Regulatory Authority has revealed that four applicants have been admitted to its sandbox which tests insurance innovations' marketability before rolling them out to the market.
Speaking during the 64th CEO’s breakfast meeting at Kampala Serena Hotel on Thursday, IRA CEO, Alhajji Ibrahim Lubega Kaddunabbi said the four are part of the nine that had been applied to be admitted to the sandbox.
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“Insurance players have embraced innovation , more so in the sandbox where nine applied and four of the products were admitted. These are pretty doing very well,” Kaddunabbi said.
He mentioned the four as InsureYo, Liberty Pay, Mobile money insurance and Bombamed.
The Insurance Regulatory Authority boss said whereas InsureYo and Liberty Pay are active and still testing in the sandbox, the remaining two have finished tests which were not successful.
Kaddunabbi said the remaining five applicants didn’t meet the required criteria.
Sandbox
According to the Insurance Regulatory Authority CEO, the insurance sandbox is an 18-month approval to test insurance innovation under the monitoring of the IRA
“It is guided by the Insurance Sandbox Guidelines 2020 that prescribes the requirements for application, evaluation, admittance and the rules of engagement while in the Sandbox. It is meant to establish an insurance regulatory framework for Fintechs experimentation and innovation with technology in order to improve efficiency, access to insurance services and to create new opportunities, while exposing the insurance sector to emerging technologies without compromising customer protection,” Kaddunabbi said.
InsureX
Kaddunabbi said another platform to encourage innovation in the insurance sector is the InsureX , a product incubator and accelerator supporting founders and executives building the next generation of technology-enabled insurance solutions.
Insurance Regulatory Authority partnered with the Innovation Village through the Future Lab Studio to develop the IRA InsureX program.
“The program’s overall aim is to build a robust insurance innovation ecosystem leveraging technology to drive adoption and use. The program is accelerating, building and scaling tech-enabled insurance solutions,” Kaddunabbi said.
He said having received 10 applications, seven have since graduated in the first cohort.
Kaddunabbi named the graduates in the first cohort as Waste Pays, Insure Yo, Agro-Consortium, Care4me, Inswallet, Weekume, and Esy Ride Auto Rescue.
The Insurance Regulatory Authority boss told insurers that innovation is the way to go or else they will perish.
“There is a big problem where most of us are used to doing business as usual but it is high time we moved out of our comfort zones by innovating. Innovation is a new area we must venture in as the insurance industry,”Kaddunabbi said.
“We expect more innovations in the areas of micro insurance, claims settlement and cyber risk among areas. This is going to resolve the issues we have been grappling with over time.”
