Aviation Insurance 

Despite the country boasting as the home to one of the most developed local aviation industries in Sub-Saharan Africa, aviation insurance has long lagged behind the other classes of insurance.  This is essentially because local aviation operators have by and large traditionally maintained their insurances off-shore. This situation has made it difficult for the required level of local insurance capacity - complete with the necessary reinsurance support - to be rolled-out to adequately cater for existing business potential.

Nonetheless, local insurers have demonstrated, unequivocally, their readiness to systematically respond to the needs of the sector, including the recent government initiatives to domesticate provision of insurance coverage for the country’s versatile air services sector.  Aviation Underwriters of Kenya (AUK), a consortium of leading local insurance companies - of which ICEA is an eminent founder member - is today the leading provider of aviation insurance products.

The business portfolio of AUK has been growing steadily since this vehicle was set up about three years ago.  The fact that AUK managed to retain the support of leading international reinsurers - led by Swiss Re - in the wake of the crisis the global aviation industry was plunged into by the unprecedented terrorism attacks of 2001, was no mean feat, and only goes to affirm that the local aviation insurance sub-sector has indeed come of age.  Its further development - to bring it to a comparative level with the other major classes of insurance - will call for conscious and deliberate measures to be taken, especially on the legislative front, to built the necessary local capacity to satisfy the needs of the nation in economic and strategic terms.