The economic slow down brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic took a toll on all sectors of the economy, the insurance sector inclusive.
As the sector gets back on its feet, the Chief Executive Officer, Insurance Regulatory Authority, Ibrahim Lubega Kaddunabbi, says the authority has automated all its operations in a bid to increase accuracy and efficiency in the industry.
Insurance penetration in Uganda remains low, standing at less than 1% despite concerted efforts by government and sector players to increase it.
However, the tough economic times caused by the recently ended Covid-19 pandemic have caused introspection about the role of insurance in cushioning businesses.
According to the CEO of the Insurance Regulatory Authority, Ibrahim Lubega Kaddunabbi, the pandemic was a wakeup call for businesses to invest more in insurance.
"The pandemic revealed that all businesses all businesses needed insurance however those businesses that were affected were facilitated after multiple shocks" Kaddunabbi said
Kaddunabbi says the authority is pursuing a number of strategies to increase insurance uptake, chief among them being automation of all its operations with a regulatory software roll out next year to keep track of the performance and efficiency in the industry.
He adds that plans are underway to implement the National health Insurance scheme that will save Ugandans from incurring crippling hospital bills out of pocket by offering affordable premiums that can enable citizens access treatment conveniently.
"We are pushing for the National Health scheme and we ask the parliament so that Ugandans get better services with inconveniences" Kaddunabbi said
Despite Ugandans' seeming reluctance to embrace insurance, the gross written premium grew from 750 billion shillings in 2020 to 990 billion in 2021 and 1.1 trillion shillings in 2022.