According to an editorial piece published by Africa Re back in October 2017, the insurance penetration rate across all African countries averaged out at around 2.8%. At the time of writing, this figure was less than half the global average, which they reported to be around 6.3%.
The insurance penetration rate is a metric derived from the ratio of insurance premiums underwritten to GDP over the course of a year. A useful measure from an economic standpoint. It is less useful at communicating the myriad other factors that are important for a thriving insurance ecosystem.
Disrupting an age-old industry
InsurTech founders don’t see the problem as simply the insurance penetration rate. Founders are using technology to address issues across the value chain, such as the availability of product, cost to the consumer, customer experience and clarity of information.