Ecobank Group Partners With Insurance Companies to Offer Bancassurance to SMEs

Tuesday, December14, 2021 / 03:17 PM / by Ecobank / Header Image Credit: Ecobank

Bancassurance servicewill be rolled out in phases, starting with Benin, Burkina Faso, CongoBrazzaville, Cote d'Ivoire, Gabon, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria,Tanzania, Togo, and Uganda

Ecobank Group's Commercial Banking business haspartnered with five insurance companies (OLD MUTUAL, ALLIANZ, SUNU, SANLAM& NSIA) to offer a range of Bancassurance solutions to Ecobank's Small andMedium-sized Enterprise (SME) customers across markets where Ecobank operates.These customers will now benefit from the convenience of being able to accessrelevant solutions for all their insurance needs.

Josephine Anan-Ankomah, Ecobank Group Executive,Commercial Banking said: "Adding a comprehensive suite of Bancassurancesolutions, in partnership with some of the most reputable insurance serviceproviders across Africa, makes us a one-stop financial services hub.Furthermore, the resilience of SME businesses is enhanced through the effectiverisk transfer that Bancassurance provides, while our solutions also offer ourvalued customers the satisfaction of knowing that they will have someprotection, having learnt from the painful experiences of COVID-19".

The insurance products offered include CommercialAsset Insurance, Engineering insurance, Marine & Cargo insurance, Key Maninsurance, Motor fleet Business Travel insurance, in addition to bespokeofferings such as Credit Insurance-Leasing, Credit Insurance-InvoiceDiscounting Without Recourse, and Agricultural Area Yield Insurance.

The Bancassurance service will be rolled out inphases, starting with Benin, Burkina Faso, Congo Brazzaville, Cote d'Ivoire,Gabon, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, Tanzania, Togo, and Uganda. EcobankGroup's 21 other affiliates will come onboard in the second phase.

Demand for Bancassurance services from SMEs across ourmarkets has been on the rise as businesses seek to shake off the effects of theCOVID-19 pandemic by looking for solutions to cushion themselves from similaroccurrences in the future.

Africa's insurance industry is valued at about US$68billion in terms of Gross Written Premium (GWP). Prior to COVID-19, theinsurance market in Africa was expected to grow at compound annual growth rates(CAGRs) of 7 percent per annum between 2020 and 2025, nearly twice as fast asNorth America, over three times that of Europe, and better than Asia's 6percent. This makes the continent the second-fastest-growing region forinsurance globally after Latin America - thanks to steady economic growth inmost countries and the underdeveloped insurance sector.