Africa-Press – Uganda. The Uganda Insurers Association has rewarded insurance agents for their role in driving the sector’s growth.
This was during the 14th annual insurance agents awards that took place at Hotel Africana in Kampala on Wednesday evening.
The Minister for Works and Transport, Gen Katumba Wamala hailed the role played by insurance agents, noting that insurance a critical role in the development of the country.
“A strong insurance sector plays a very big role towards the sustainability and development of the country as a safety towards risks. Insurance agents are the lifeline of the insurance industry by playing a crucial linkage between insurance companies and the general public. They do more than the CEOs of the insurance companies,” he said.
The minister applauded the growth of licenced insurance brokers from 2000 in 2017 to 4500 in 2024.
He however noted that insurance penetration is not yet at the desired level and implored agents to double their efforts in this regard.
“You have just heard the number of vehicles insured, against the number of vehicles which are on the road and how many Ugandans value insurance. Insurance agents must therefore play a very important role to sensitize the general public on the need to cover risks. We need to get rid of this general feeling that insurance doesn’t pay. Educating the general public and encouraging the people to be insured against risks is very important,” Gen Wamala said.
He implored them to provide guidance, simplify complex policies and promoting financial literacy among members of the public.
“Many times, insurance is misunderstood by the members of the public who think it takes free money. You need to demystify out understanding of insurance and simplify complex policies. By doing so, our agents will help fellow Ugandans to protect their livelihoods.”
The minister also welcomed the growth in claim payouts, calling it a positive development that he said will draw more clients to the sector.
Uganda Insurers Association CEO, Jonan Kisakye said insurance agents play a crucial role in the development of the sector.
‘As we speak today, insurance agents contribute more than 60% of the premiums written by life cover , making them a critical component of the distribution channel of insurance. If you look at general insurance, they contribute more than 50%to the production you see,” Kisakye said.
Quoting the 2024 statistics in which gross written premiums hit shs1.79 trillion for the entire sector, Kisakye said almost 50% of this figure was contributed by insurance agents.
He said the awards celebrate and encourage agents to even do better.
“They are a channel of distribution that has for a long period of time been misunderstood. This celebration is meant to put the agent at the forefront to demonstrate they are able to deliver a service, trusted and professional.”
The Insurers Association CEO said since agents interacts with clients on a day-to-day basis, it is critical that they are professional in a bid to avoid misrepresentation.
He mentioned challenges like taxation that insurance agents face, noting that these need to be streamlined.
“URA expects the agent to file a return on an annual basis but filing this return is expensive. It means the agent must get help, probably from a professional accountant to support them in filing a return to account for taxes. The agent pays 10% in withholding tax on every commission they receive. The expectations is they will be able to file returns and account for the 20% to make it 30% in terms of income tax. We agreed with URA to further discuss this and support agents simplify the process,” Kisakye said.
Commenting about the awards, Dan Musiime, the CEO of Jubilee Health Insurance Uganda hailed agents as the lifeline of insurance.
“They are part of the producers of the insurance world and do a great job in terms of soliciting for business. We are pleased that some of Jubilee Health agents are being recognized for the very hard work that they do. I hope it is a testament that we appreciate what they do,”Musiime.
“This is very rewarding and we hope it will motivate the rest of the agents to work harder. “
Musiime explained that Jubilee Health is trying to facilitate the work of insurance agents and make it easier by going the digital way.
“Our agents don’t need to go with papers all-out but can interact with clients and on-board them immediately using the J-Force. This is an app where agents are able to on-board clients wherever they meet them including issuing the policy without exchanging paperwork. We are not only saving the environment, we are also making work simpler for them to reach as many clients and possible,” Musiime said.
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