Uganda’s insurance industry is calling for policy reforms and affordable products to widen coverage, as gross written premiums reached Shs2.024 trillion in 2025 while penetration remained below one per cent of GDP.
Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Norbert Mao has pledged to engage relevant government ministries to fast-track the proposed National Health Insurance Scheme as Uganda’s insurance industry seeks government support to expand coverage.
Mao made the commitment during the sixth International Annual Insurance Conference in Gulu City, where industry players called for policy and legal reforms to make insurance more accessible to ordinary Ugandans.
According to the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA), gross written premiums rose to Shs2.024 trillion in 2025, up 14.72 per cent from approximately Shs1.764 trillion in 2024.
However, insurance penetration remained below one per cent of gross domestic product in 2024, highlighting the limited reach of insurance services despite growth in the value of business written by insurers.
Addressing the conference, Mao said he would engage other government ministries on advancing the proposed National Health Insurance Scheme.
He also said his ministry had established a two-week client-charter window through which stakeholders with pending matters could seek responses, adding that insurance industry players could use the arrangement to present their concerns.
Soule Serembo, the chief executive officer and principal of the Insurance Training College, which convened the conference, called for a stronger government policy and legal framework to increase insurance uptake.
Serembo said limited public awareness, affordability challenges and the concentration of insurance business among corporate clients continued to restrict access for individuals and small businesses.
He called on insurers to develop more microinsurance products targeting boda-boda riders, small-scale farmers and small businesses, which often face financial losses but have limited access to formal insurance.
He also urged the industry to prepare for emerging risks associated with artificial intelligence, cybercrime and climate change.
IRA figures show that microinsurance premiums increased by 131.42 per cent in 2024, rising from approximately Shs708 million to Shs1.64 billion.
Despite that growth, microinsurance accounted for only about 0.09 per cent of total industry premiums that year, indicating its small contribution to the overall market.
The figures point to a gap between the growth of Uganda’s insurance industry and the uptake of products designed to protect low-income earners and small enterprises against unexpected losses.
The acting chief executive officer of the IRA, Dr Protazio Sande, urged Ugandans to embrace insurance as a way of protecting themselves against unforeseen losses in their workplaces, businesses and agricultural activities.
The conference provided a platform for industry players to discuss barriers to insurance uptake, the role of government policy in expanding coverage and the need to develop products suited to the needs of underserved communities.