Companies
Minet, Fidelity deal to cover local small firms
Friday April 21 2023
Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) Chairman Mwambu Mabongah at Sarova Panafric Nairobi on April 20, 2023, during the unveiling of an insurance cover by Minet Kenya, dubbed BiznaSure. The cover is a comprehensive and customized insurance policy that allows SMEs to choose the type of insurance they need. PHOTO | WILFRED NYANGARESI | NMG
Minet Kenya and Fidelity Insurance have partnered to launch a tailored cover shielding micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) against a broad spectrum of risks.
The product dubbed Bizna Sure seeks to protect MSMEs against financial, legal and reputational damage unlike traditional covers in the market that do not envision such dynamics.
Payable premiums will range from Sh5,000 to Sh1 million, depending on the value of the assets being insured.
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“We are offering a solution that is unique, differentiated and one that is customisable to cover all the perils including theft, property damage, business interruptions and other risks that may affect the owner, employees and even third parties,” said Fidelity Insurance CEO Richard Marisin.
Cover options include machinery breakdown, employee dishonesty, cyber liability, political violence, property, money and staff compensation.
Payable premium depends on the coverage options selected with MSMEs heavy on assets in terms of value paying more.
Kenya has about 7.4 million MSMEs with the majority struggling to make ends meet due to the difficult environment they operate in.
Small businesses were hit hardest by Covid-19, leading to job layoffs, salary cuts and closures due to dwindling revenue streams.
“Unveiling of this product is well timed as it is coming at a time the country is rebounding back from the Covid-19 effects,” said Insurance Regulatory Authority chairman Mwambu Mabongah.
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At the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, businesses like restaurants, bars and retail stores were struggling with a decline in customer demand, repayment of bank loans, and rent and utility bills fuelling worries of a spike in non-performing loans.
