Nairobi — Insurance and reinsurance firms operating in Kenya could soon pay higher licensing and annual fees under new proposals by the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA).
According to the draft Insurance Regulations 2025, the IRA plans to raise insurers' licensing fees to Sh500,000 from the current Sh150,000, while reinsurers' fees will rise by Sh250,000 to Sh750,000. Micro-insurers, however, will retain the current Sh150,000 charge.
The regulator also proposes to increase annual fees by Sh350,000 for insurers and Sh500,000 for reinsurers to reflect the rising cost of regulatory oversight and its expanded supervisory role.
"To reflect the increased cost of regulatory oversight and the need to support the Authority's expanded role in supervising the insurance industry, the regulations propose revision of the annual and license fees for insurers and reinsurers," IRA says.
IRA further intends to raise charges for digital insurance platforms and intermediaries. Under the proposal, annual fees for insurance brokers and medical insurance providers will increase from Sh10,000 to Sh100,000.
"Further, to reflect the increased cost of supervision and regulation of the insurance intermediary businesses which is increasingly being undertaken through digital platforms, the proposed regulations also seek to revise the annual license fees payable by intermediaries and service providers."
