Insurance players launch five-year initiative to boost awareness

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The Uganda Insurers Association (UIA), in partnership with the Insurance Regulatory Authority of Uganda (IRA) and the Africa Reinsurance Foundation, have launched a five-year Insurance Literacy and Market Development Agenda (ILMDA).

The initiative is a comprehensive plan aimed at simplifying the knowledge about insurance and risk management while boosting understanding and appreciation of its benefits to the general public.

Speaking during the launch held last week at Mestil Hotel in Kampala, the UIA CEO, Jonan Kisakye, underscored the rationale behind the initiative and its expected achievements.

“There are a lot of misconceptions about insurance, and the expectation from the public is that if they buy an insurance policy, it is actually equated to saving or a situation where a commercial bank receives deposits.

However, insurance works totally differently. It is based on a promise that in the event of an occurrence that leads to a claim, the policyholder will be compensated. The public needs to be explained to how insurance works and this is what the five-year agenda entails,” Kisakye said.

He further explained that the initiative aims to ensure members of the public are insured and can offer relevant informative guidance to their counterparts seeking to undertake a policy.

“One you don’t understand insurance, it becomes a problem, and people will not appreciate its benefits and how it will be able to support them. This is the heart of the agenda to allow the public to dialogue with insurance sector players.”

He cited an example of a client who had been insuring their vehicle for four years without a claim and wanted to be paid back the total amount of the premium for the four years.

The CEO of the Insurance Regulatory Authority, Al Hajji Ibrahim Lubega Kaddunabbi said that whereas insurance is a key pillar in any country’s financial system as it cushions against unforeseen shocks and enables individuals, families and businesses to thrive confidently, many don’t appreciate it fully.

“One of the most significant barriers continues to be low insurance literacy. Many Ugandans either do not understand how insurance works or mistrust its mechanisms. Myths, misconceptions, and a lack of clear information have kept millions of our citizens outside the safety net that insurance can provide,” Kaddunabbi said.

He said that through the Insurance Literacy and Market Development Agenda, stakeholders aim to bridge the knowledge gap, build trust, and empower Ugandans with the information they need to make informed decisions about their financial futures.

“This agenda is not a stand-alone document. It is an integrated part of our broader vision as the Insurance Regulatory Authority of Uganda to foster a vibrant, trusted and inclusive insurance sector that contributes meaningfully to Uganda’s socio-economic transformation.”

The Director of Economic Affairs at the Ministry of Finance, Moses Kaggwa, hailed the insurance stakeholders for the initiative that he said will play a crucial role in deepening insurance in the country as the government seeks to grow the economy tenfold.

“We are at a time where we are taking off from a lower middle income to an upper middle-income status. This leap is to be anchored on four sectors, including agro-industrialisation, tourism development, mineral development, and Science & Technology. This means insurance will play a crucial role in this leap. We can’t have this without insurance. We must ensure we have insurance for agriculture, tourism, mineral development and all the other sectors,” Kaggwa said.