Shakeout Looms for Kenyan Insurers Squeezed by Capital Rules
- Insurance industry in talks with regulator to lighten load
- Risk-based laws will double capital requirements by 2018
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A push by Kenyan regulators to clean up the East African country’s insurance industry is poised to trigger stake sales or exits by underwriters unable to meet the new capital requirements, according to an industry group.
Most companies missed a June deadline to start building capital levels over the next three years, leaving many of them stuck with having to find investors to raise cash or to sell their companies completely, Association of Kenya Insurers Executive Director Tom Gichohi said. While most of the nation’s biggest insurers and foreign operators will be able to meet the requirements, the majority of underwriters are family owned, he said.