MTN MoMo, Sanlam launch mobile insurance product

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MTN Mobile Money (MoMo) has launched a new mobile-based insurance product called Cover by MoMo, targeting uninsured Ugandans.

The inaugural product offering, dubbed Family Cover, is developed in partnership with Sanlam Life Insurance Uganda. It offers life and hospitalisation cover for up to six people, with premiums starting at sh500 a month.

The launch is MTN’s latest push to tap into mobile platforms to deliver basic financial services. It comes at a time when over 90% of Ugandans remain uninsured, largely due to affordability, bureaucracy, or limited access to traditional providers.

Family Cover includes two main features. The first, MyLife, pays a lump sum to a beneficiary in the event of the insured person’s death. The second, MyHospital, offers a cash payout to help offset hospital bills for those admitted due to illness or injury.

Depending on the plan, users can access benefits of up to sh2 million in life cover and sh200,000 for hospitalisation.

Jemima Kariuki, Chief Product Officer at MTN MoMo. (Photo by Ali Twaha)

According to Jemima Kariuki, Chief Product Officer at MTN MoMo, customers who consistently pay their premiums for a year also qualify for a 10% cashback reward.

“This is about giving people tools to protect their families without needing to walk into an office or fill out forms,” Kariuki said.

Nicholas Wavamuno, the business intelligence and growth manager at Sanlam Life Insurance, said the product was built to serve users who are typically excluded from the insurance system, such as informal workers, small business owners, and women led households.