First Quarter 2018
Our Products:
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Training on Reinsurance related and general insurance practices
EDITOR IN CHIEF
ESTHER MUHINDI
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
ESTHER MUHINDI
JANE OTIENO
HARRY MUGO
NICHOLAS MUSAO
LEVITES RE-NEWS IS PUBLISHED
BY :
Levites International Reinsurance Brokers
Ltd. Chiromo Court, Chiromo Road,
Westlands, P. O. Box 694 - 00517, Nairobi,
Kenya
DESIGN AND LAYOUT
BY:
Levites International
Reinsurance Brokers
Welcome to our First 2018
We wish you a happy reading!
The Law of the Lid and OrganizationalGrowth
EDITORIAL
Esther Ngunyi - Muhindi
How Artificial Intelligence will affect Insurance
The 42nd FANAF General Assembly
Why Insurance Sales Agents Will Not BeExiting The Stage Soon.
Inside this issue
In February 2018 the FANAF conference was held in Kigali, Rwanda where more than 800 delegates met and discussed the vast growth opportunities in the African insurance markets.
The East African insurance industry is under pressure to embrace Artificial Intelligence so as to be in tandem with the other financial market players in the region. This will have tremendous effect on the operations of insurance companies and may lead to loss of jobs but will enhance customer service
Indeed some underwriters have installed interactive applications to enhance marketing activities using Chatbots
Leadership affects growth and profitability of
good leaders and what it takes to move organizations to the next level.
Our dear Readers,
Newsletter-Edition. We would wish to thank
you our readers for your feedback and contributions.
organizations. In this edition we look at the qualities of
Artificial Intelligence and Insurance
In the first quarter of 2018 Jubilee Insurance
launched JubiCare and JubiAgent, the apps
that allow self-service using smartphones.
Chatbots
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has enabled computer software to exhibit human-like
behaviors that include planning, learning
and solving problems for example the case
of chatbots
Chatbots work through messaging apps many customers already have on their
phones, which makes them a natural next
step in customer interaction. In order to truly
be effective, chatbots must have natural
language processing and sentiment analysis
so they can understand what customers are
really asking. Effective chatbots can process
concerns that are either typed or spoken from customers and provide personalized service.
T he insurance industry is one of the
least innovative areas for customer
However, things are definitely changing, and artificial intelligence is playing a large
role. The fast-growing technology has the
potential to disrupt the entire industry and
greatly improve the insurance customer
experience.
The industry is definitely ripe for AI disruption. Customers expect to be able to
interact with companies through modern
technology
In the insurance space, chatbots can be used to answer basic questions and resolve
claims, as well as sell products, address
leads, or make sure customers are properly
covered by their insurance In Kenya a big percent of the consumers are tech savvy and are pushing for computer-
generated insurance transactions Jubilee Insurance has integrated Artificial Intelligence into their Facebook Page
through the use of a Chabot called Julie, its
Live Intelligent Expert who answers queries.
This means faster and efficient service
delivery
Indeed in the East African insurance industry some underwriters are already
using artificial intelligence to some degree,
and the number of companies following in
their footsteps is sure to increase
dramatically over the coming years.
Artificial Intelligence has never been less
expensive or more accessible, which means
most companies don’t have a reason not to
adopt it in at least some form
Marketing
Insurance is a competitive market, so a strong marketing strategy is vital. Traditionally, insurance companies used
blanket methods like cold calling customers,
but today’s customers expect personalized
sales tactics.
However this is bound to change because AI can be applied to improve the claims
process. Claims currently are touched by
multiple employees. However, a new
process of “touchless” claims doesn’t
require any human intervention. This
process uses artificial intelligence and other
technology to report the claim, capture
damage, audit the system, and communicate
with the customer
Chatbots can pull customers’ geographic
and social data for personalized interactions
A number of underwriters have recently launched interactive applications Jubilee
JubiAgent that allows self-service using
smartphones. For example Jubilee is selling
personal line insurances through JubiAgent AI- makes the claim process faster and customized through online interfaces and
reduces fraudulent claims. It is estimated
that in 2017 medical insurance underwriters
lost more than Kshs. 1.1b to fraudulent
claims in Kenya making medical insurance
unprofitable.
Underwriting & Risk Assessment
AI can analyze data better than humans to more accurately predict each customer’s
risk, thereby providing customers with the
right amount of insurance and companies
with protection from risky customers. Research indicates that by 2020, there will be more than 20 billion devices connected to
the Internet. Insurance companies that will
strategically position themselves for this
transformation will reap big in the home,
health and car insurance sectors.
AI allows insurance carriers to price risks based on real events, in real time, using
data linked to individuals rather than
samples of data linked to groups.
AI can pull in customer data to create a full profile that can be used to offer only
relevant insurance products.
AI has also enabled these computers to solve problems and make decisions after
analyzing information. This technology
offers more advanced characteristics such as
image recognition, voice recognition and so
much more.
Artificial Intelligence in the Claims
Process
A big percentage of insurance consumers dread the process of filing a claim because the industry isn’t consistently leveraging
new technologies that are available to them.
The 42nd FANAF General Assembly, Kigali
n the first day of the 42nd
FANAF Federation of African National Insurance Companies
FANAF
General Assembly, held from 12 to 15
February 2018, speakers emphasized the
strong growth potential of the African
insurance market.
The FANAF pursues the following
objectives:
The promotion of the insurance and
reinsurance in Africa;
the establishment of the structures of
reflections and cooperation in matters
relating to insurance and reinsurance;
continuing training of staff in the
insurance sector;
According to them, the continent has
several assets, such as the high
demographic weight, the emergence of a
middle class and the low penetration
rate. To better take advantage of these
benefits, local insurers need to design
innovative products that are more
responsive to the new needs of
policyholders.
"The deployment of new information
technologies is an important growth
driver for the insurance industry," says
Adama Ndiaye, president of FANAF.
Another highlight is the agreement of the
Continental Free Trade Area, which has
been in preparation for almost 40 years,
and will be signed in March 2018 in
Kigali. This convention will open up new
Opportunities for insurers wishing to
expand their business beyond national
borders.
The Federation of African National
Insurance companies more known
under the acronym "FANAF" was
created on 17 March 1976 at
Yamoussoukro (Republic of Côte
d'Ivoire). Professional association whose
headquarters is in Dakar in Senegal, the
FANAF brings together (at the date of 15
February 2018) 214 member companies
including:
53 life companies; 137 companies Non-
life; 19 companies of reinsurance, 4
Guarantee Fund Automotive (FGA) and
1 Company Credit / guarantor operating
in the country (29):
South Africa, Algeria, Bahrain, Benin,
Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon,
Central African Republic, Congo
Brazzaville, Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon,
Ghana, Guinea Conakry, Equatorial
Guinea, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali,
Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, the
Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia
O
he insurance industry has recorded
minimal growth as far as penetration
and performance go. The growth has
been slower in the developing markets
where penetration has seen a sluggish
appetite.
The most sensible reason for this has been
lack of trust between the customers and the
insurance companies for starters and lack of
adequate disposable income among the
populace in many of these markets.
The last decade has, however, seen a surge
in insurance trends, thanks to the
advancement in technology. Industry experts
say that in years to come, growth of the
industry will primarily be fuelled more by
technology than by any other factor.
While the changes and growth are not
expected to be instantaneous, the winds of
change are already sweeping through the
industry, propelled by technology and
innovation.
It is expected that future insurance
companies will be driven by technology 100
per cent and all processes are expected to be
automated.
Companies that respond and adapt to this
inevitable change stand to reap big while
those that adopt a wait-and-see approach
will cheer on the first movers.
There are some technological innovations
that are expected to disrupt the industry and
how this technology can be leveraged by
insurance companies to make meaningful
impact.
Artificial intelligence (AI): AI is an
umbrella term used to refer to four different
classes of Artificial Intelligence namely
Cognitive, Data Science, Computing and
Machine Learning.
AI is expected to play a fundamental role in
helping underwriters to unlock their
potential in terms of value addition to their
back and front office operations.
Data science and machine learning, for
instance, is expected to take Centre stage in
implementing these processes because they
are the most understood and the most used
forms of AI.
The advancement in AI and machine
learning are already making it possible to
leverage unstructured datasets and
companies are already making use of this
development.
Companies are implementing AI in all their
processes ranging from product pricing to
consumer trends prediction.
They are expected to make use of
information such as credit histories and
online usage trends of clients to come up
with algorithms that would customize
products for customers.
T
tone Tech marvels that will set insurance
Block chain and Chabot’s: Block chain
technology is closely related to AI and
machine learning. Insurance distribution
channels, especially those directly related to
micro-insurance products are expected to be
modified and re-engineered to adapt to the
changing and emerging trends in
technology.
More and more companies have already
adopted the USSD approach which is
considered a low-touch approach in terms of
consumer connectivity.
While it has worked very well for most
firms, the jury is still out on the viability of
this channel as an ideal distribution channel
especially in a market where trust in the
industry is still an issue to be discussed.
Peer-To-Peer: P2P insurance describes
products such as rotating savings and credit
associations that normally group people into
pools and then offer insurance.
While this is not necessarily a new concept,
we expect to see companies leveraging on
technologies such as social media and taking
advantage of smartphone penetration to
create new group structures.
On-Demand Insurance (ODI): The current
crop of consumers has varying consumer
needs that insurers will have to adapt to.
For instance, the new generation of
consumers would prefer to buy items several
times in small quantities as opposed to bulk
buying. This trend is mostly informed by the
irregular income streams that intertwine
with competing needs.
The solution? “Sachet marketing”. Insurers
will be compelled to come up with short-
term products that require periodic or
regular payment either weekly, daily or
monthly.
This means that insures will sell their
products on-demand and will either turn a
policy on or off depending on the consumer
needs.
As the smartphone penetration index
continues to rise, we expect that more and
more firms will get innovative and introduce
diverse micro insurance products for low-
income consumers.
The future of insurance growth and
penetration will be anchored in technology
and its usefulness will depend on how well
the players leverage this tool to suit their
needs.
The first movers in each and every step of
the way will be the bakers of the cake while
the rest will only benefit from their
generosity.
Why insurance sales agents will exiting the stage soon
companies and the general
public to whom they offer
“last mile” service
especially where
personalised service is
necessary,” said AKI board
chairman Patrick Tumbo
not be
Kenyans as possible,” said
Mr Tumbo.
Already, a number of insurance companies have
started retraining and
coming up with digital
products that will assist
both agents and customers
to conduct their businesses.
last week in Nairobi.
Inumber of sales agents
nsurance companies
are set to increase the Official data shows that insurance penetration in
Kenya is currently below
three per cent, and industry
players’ goal is to grow
this to six per cent in line
with the global average.
and equip them with the right skills to navigate the
ever-changing market.
Last month, Jubilee Insurance launched two
apps for their agents:
JubiAgent Medical and
JubiAgent Motor Apps to
enable their agents to self-
serve clients on their
mobile phones. The apps
will eliminate the need to
customers to walk into the
offices or make a phone
call to access services, but
can complete their
requests, renewals and
transactions through the
app.
Underwriters through their umbrella body,
Association of Kenya
Insurers (AKI) have said
the team is a critical
element in the business as
they contribute towards an
estimated 40 per cent of
premiums.
“This we shall achieve by maximising on the
opportunities that the
changing environment is
providing us with,” said
Mr Tumbo during AKI
Agents of the Year
Awards. And in as much as technology will be an
enabler of convenient
service, not all insurance
products can be sold from
end to end including
claims processing online.
There are about 6,500 insurance reps in Kenyan,
and these numbers are
negligible compared to
over 40,000 banking
agents and over 135,000
mobile money outlets
which have increased
penetration levels to over
70 per cent.
Agent apps will enable them to access the
premium calculator, agent
account management, pre-
insurance inspection and
renewal on the go, making
them more effective and
efficient when interacting
with clients and potential
clients.
Some products such as medical insurance still
require human contact.
Given this, the role of the
insurance sales agent will
still be necessary. “There is, therefore, need to increase our insurance
agents to ensure that we
reach and serve as many
“Customers are now
looking for services that “They are the interface
between the insurance
can be initiated and completed on their mobile
phones. They want
services that take less time
to process and insurance
providers who tap into this
efficiency and meet this
expectation will retain and
attract new customers,”
said Jubilee Insurance
Regional Chief Executive
Julius Kipng’etich.
adding they are already training theirs. “We have
already started, but a lot of
it is depending on
environment we are
working in. We have to
move in tandem with the
customer,” said Mr Gitogo.
recent comment said as all sorts of ways to improve
insurance penetration are
being sort, with digital
products now entering the
market, insurance agents
must be taken care.
“But even as they endeavour to do so, let’s
not forget, not taking care
of the insurance agents in
the industry means most of
these attempts will fall flat
on their faces because
every would-be consumer
of an insurance product
will need some explaining
to be done to them before
they can buy it. That’s
where the agents come in.
In Africa, insurance is not
bought but sold,” said Mr
Ndegea.
CIC Insurance has about 600 sales agents and the
number is expected to
increase to about 1,000 by
end of the year. CIC Insurance Chief Executive Tom Gitogo
said technology for now
will remain a channel of
distribution, not a
replacement.
Bima Intermediaries Association of Kenya
(BIAK), a body that
represents the interests of
insurance sales agents in
the industry said despite
digital adoption, agents are
still needed.
“We still need foot soldiers (sales agents),” said Mr
Gitogo.
He said sales agents need
to be digitally savvy
Association chairman
Washington Ndegea in a
Jim Collins in his book how the mighty fall talks about the characteristics of level 5
leaders
Leaders evolve Being a leader takes
courage, discipline, and determination
The best corporate leaders have an insatiable hunger for learning and are lifelong learners.
Leaders evolve
Level 5 Leadership is a concept developed by Jim Collins. After several years of
research, Collins discovered that all of the
great organizations that he studied were
headed by what he called "Level 5 Leaders. Wenterprises while others never even
hy do some companies grow to global
have a nationwide presence? How to Become a Level 5 Leader
While leaders bring great success, it also comes at a cost being a leader takes courage,
discipline, and determination
It takes time and effort to become a Level 5
Leader. But the good news is that it can be
done, especially if you have the passion to
try.
Leadership is always the lid on personal and
organizational effectiveness. The lower an
individual’s ability to lead, the lower the lid
on his potential.
Your leadership ability–for better or for
worse–always determines your effectiveness
and the potential impact of your
organization.
Take Responsibility
A top attribute of Level 5 Leaders is that
they take responsibility for their team's
mistakes or failings.
So make sure that you take responsibility for
your (and your team's) actions. Our Book
Insight into No Excuses! The power of self-
discipline has more on this.
To reach the highest level of effectiveness, you have to raise the lid–one way or
another.
Develop Discipline
Level 5 Leaders are incredibly disciplined in
their work. When they commit to a course of
action, no matter how difficult it is, they
stick to their resolve.
You can also do it through personal growth and development. Leadership can be
learned
The Law of the Lid and Organizational growth
then don't let naysayers dissuade you from a
course of action. It's always important to
listen to differing opinions, of course, but
don't let fear be your driving motivator when
you make, or change, a decision.
you can develop the qualities of a Level 5
Leader:
Develop Humility
Level 5 Leaders are humble people. So,
learn why humility is important, and make
sure that you understand – at a deep,
emotional level – why arrogance is so
destructive. Then ensure that you behave in
a humble way – for example, whenever your
team has success, make sure that credit goes
to them for their hard work.
Find the Right People
Level 5 Leaders depend on the people
around them. They spend time finding the
right people, and helping them reach their
full potential.
If you're a leader or manager already, then
you probably know without thinking who
your best people are. However, you
sometimes have to challenge these
assumptions – our article on The Leader-
Member Exchange Theory shows you how
to do this, so that you can get the best from
everyone on your team.
Lead With Passion
Level 5 Leaders are passionate about what
they do, and they're not afraid to show it.
When you demonstrate to your team
members that you love and believe in what
you're doing, they will too. If you're having
a hard time finding passion in your work,
then you need to search for the human
benefit in what you're doing
Again, it's important to realize that you don't
have to progress through each level in turn
in order to get to Level 5. But you do need
the capabilities found in each level in order
to achieve Level 5 status.
Here are some strategies that will help you
grow emotionally and professionally, so that
Conversely, as a leader, you need to take
responsibility for your team's efforts, even
when things go wrong.
If you know in your heart that you're right,
Story is told about
a young Thomas
Edison who came
home one day with a
paper for his mother. He
told her, “My teacher told
me to give this paper only
to my mother.”
Thomas’ mother read the
note and her eyes filled
with tears. Thomas asked
his mother what the note
said, and she read aloud,
“Your son is a genius. This
school is too small for him
and doesn’t have enough
good teachers for training
him. Please teach him
yourself.”
And that’s exactly what
Thomas’ mother did; she
home-schooled her child
with devotion and
dedication. As the story
goes, many years later
after Thomas Edison’s
mother passed on, and he
was now one of the
world’s greatest inventors,
he found a folded paper
among other family items.
He opened the very same
paper that had been
handed to him to give to
his mother and read the
following message:
“Your son is mentally ill.
We won’t let him come to
school anymore.”
At that moment, Edison
realized what his mother
had done for him so many
years ago. He wrote in his
diary: “Thomas Alva
Edison was an addled child
that, by a hero mother,
became the genius of the
century.”
In the book of Proverbs we
learn: “The words of the
reckless pierce like swords,
but the tongue of the wise
brings healing.”
Can you imagine what
might have happened to
Thomas Edison if his
mother had read to him
the reckless and hurtful
words written by his
teacher? He might never
have invented the light
bulb or made his many
other contributions to
society.
Thank God for the wisdom
and wise words of his
mother! She created the
context in which her son
could grow to his full
potential.
Let’s take this message to
heart and resolve to use
our words for healing
today. You might be a
parent, what do you say to
your children.... You might
be a teacher, what do you
say to your student...
especially the ones that
are not really performing
well presently.... What do
you say about your
parents, family, boss,
subordinate, leader,
colleague, follower....?
Just as hurtful words can
cause uncontrolled
damage for life, so can
wise words positively
affect a person for life?
May the words you use
today change a life for the
better?
A
IT Department
profession and his calling with integrity and deligence.Harold is passionate with ICTrelated stuffs like repair and
others.
Harold Mtsonga is an IT graduate who handles his
,web maintenance and among maintenance, web application
Congratulations to Harold Mtsonga for being our First Quarter employee of the year.
Our Employee of the First Quarter 2018
9
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Levites International Reinsurance Ltd
LEVITES INTERNATIONAL REINSURANCE BROKERS LIMITED
REINSURANCE BROKERS LIMITED
Email: [email protected], Website: www.levitesre.com