Insurers Urged to Target 95% of Uninsured Ugandans

What the report says

Uganda’s Insurance Regulatory Authority is pressing insurers and brokers to move beyond competing for a limited pool of existing customers and instead develop affordable, innovative products for underserved communities. In comments reported by Nile Post, acting IRA chief executive Protazio Sande said the industry should aim at the roughly 95% of adult Ugandans who remain uninsured, rather than focusing only on commission-driven business in the current market.

Sande made the remarks at an event hosted by the Insurance Brokers Association of Uganda and National Insurance Corporation to mark their partnership. He said brokers bring customer insight while insurers provide technical capacity and financing, and argued that the two sides should work together to design products that can widen access. He also warned that weak relations between brokers and insurers can hurt public confidence, since customers often experience both as one system when claims or service issues arise.

The IRA says insurance uptake in Uganda remains low, with coverage around 5% of adults and penetration below 1% of GDP. Sande added that the regulator is considering broader ways to judge sector performance, including the number of people insured and the value of assets covered. As general context, insurance regulators in many markets use similar measures to assess whether the industry is expanding protection, not just premium income.

NIC Holdings also said it wants to improve relations with brokers by addressing delays in claims handling and commission payments. Managing director Dan Musime said brokers are central to growth and called for stronger enforcement of common standards across the sector.