Life insurance premiums surged by 33.6 percent to Sh147.46 billion in the six months ended June 2026, pushing them past general covers, fueled by retirement savings channelled via private insurers and a surge in investment-linked products.
Data from the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) shows gross premiums under long-term insurance business rose from Sh110.39 billion a year earlier.
The growth lifted life insurance’s share of total industry premiums above half, to about 51 percent, overtaking general insurance, which recorded a slower 9.2 percent rise to Sh141.90 billion from Sh129.88 billion.
The figures reinforced a shift in the industry’s premium mix towards long-term savings and investment products, even as general insurers continue to rely heavily on medical and motor covers.
The IRA attributed more than half of the increase in long-term premiums to two classes of business, being investments and deposit administration. The pair generated an extra Sh19.99 billion, accounting for 54 percent of the Sh37.06 billion increase in long-term premium income.
Investment-linked business recorded the fastest growth, with premiums rising 130.7 percent to Sh21.95 billion from Sh9.51 billion.
The investments class contributed 14.9 percent of long-term premiums, up from a much smaller base (8.6 percent) a year earlier, overtaking group life to become the third-largest contributor to long-term premiums.
The regulator attributed the increase mainly to unit trusts managed under unit-linked and linked-investment products, through which policyholders’ funds are invested in financial assets.
APA Life Assurance and Britam Life Assurance were the largest contributors to the expansion, accounting for 59.6 percent of the increase in investment-class premiums. APA’s premiums in the class rose by Sh3.88 billion, while Britam recorded an increase of Sh3.41 billion.
The performance points to the growing importance of investment-linked products in insurers’ business, combining investment exposure with insurance arrangements.
Deposit administration was the other major driver, with premiums increasing 21.1 percent to Sh43.31 billion from Sh35.75 billion. The class remained the largest contributor to long-term business, accounting for 29.4 percent of premiums.
The IRA linked the continued growth in deposit administration to the contracting out of National Social Security Fund (NSSF) tier II contributions, which are partly managed by insurers through deposit administration schemes. The deal allows employers to redirect part of employees’ pension contributions to an RBA-approved private pension scheme instead of the NSSF. The flow of these retirement contributions has become a key source of premium growth.
Kenindia Assurance and Britam Life accounted for 99.2 percent of the increase in deposit administration, with their premiums rising by Sh3.95 billion and Sh3.54 billion, respectively.
Under the NSSF framework, employers are allowed to channel tier II pension contributions into approved privately-managed schemes rather than the NSSF-managed arrangement. Other long-term insurance classes also expanded. Group life premiums rose 59.1 percent to Sh17.80 billion, while annuities increased 67.2 percent to Sh10.33 billion.
Personal pension business grew 19.8 percent to Sh14.72 billion.
Life assurance, the traditional protection-oriented class, recorded an 18.3 percent growth to Sh29.27 billion. Group credit was the only major class to contract, declining 6.1 percent to Sh10.07 billion.
Over the same period, general insurance premiums grew 9.2 percent to Sh141.90 billion. Medical remained the largest class, accounting for 41.7 percent of general premiums, followed by motor private and motor commercial.
Kenya’s insurance reach rose to an eight-year high of 2.63 percent last year from 2.45 percent the previous year, lifted by a jump in life insurance premiums that saw long-term covers overtake general insurance for the first time.
This marked the fifth consecutive annual increase and put the indicator at its highest level since 2017, when it stood at 2.68 percent.
The sustained growth has been supported by life cover, whose pace of growth has been above that of short-term covers over the past nine years.
Between 2016 and 2025, life insurance premiums more than tripled to Sh236.29 billion, while general insurance premiums rose 1.85 times to Sh225.38 billion.