Britam has partnered with digital insurance platform, mTek, to offer a mobile-enabled business protection cover to traders at affordable and flexible rates.
The insurance cover dubbed Britam Biashara, targeting MSMEs (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises), protecting them against fire and burglary, is expected to cushion the budding investors from the risks.
Additionally, the cover protects the MSMEs against loss of income in the event of fire or hospitalization and also protects the owner against the risks of death or disability caused by an accident.
Under the Britam Biashara policy, MSMEs’ owners have several options including choosing the basic property cover with additional personal accident cover or business interruption due to hospitalization cover or both depending on their requirements and affordability.
According to a press statement, this partnership targets to distribute the solution to over 100,000 MSMEs, spread across the country from the comfort of their phones, through mTek’s mobile application.
“By insuring the informal retail sector, we become business enablers of MSMEs. This is by improving their risk profile, which then enables them to attract financial credit and expand their value chains,” said Evah Kimani, Britam’s Digital and Partnership Director.
“This solution, therefore, serves to ‘mainstream’ or formalise the MSMEs, by according them financial and social protection,” Kimani stated, adding that it also boosts their sustainability by addressing the risk of disruption and failure.
Concurrently, mTek’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ms. Bente Krogmann said that collaboration amongst insurance sector players in the development of customized products is key to increasing penetration amongst the uninsured.
“We believe that technology plays a vital role in the provision of customer-specific insurance products,” said Ms. Krogmann.
She stated that small business owners could enjoy the seamless purchase of Britam Biashara and claims processing via the mTek platform which delivers convenience thus saving business people time to concentrate on more pressing issues.
“In addition, we have been able to develop bundle products that cover multiple risks faced by our customers as opposed to selling many products to one customer,” said Ms. Krogmann.
According to the ‘State of SME Insurance in Kenya 2021’ report, most MSMEs rely on alternative coping mechanisms other than insurance which include the owner’s savings as a fallback during crises and others on the financial goodwill of the owner’s relatives and friends.
In addition, some even resort to selling assets but such approaches may be unreliable or inadequate compared to insurance, especially when confronted with sudden, disruptive events.
