Small and medium enterprises can now access a tailor-made, affordable health insurance cover following the launch of the Medical Plan for Business Enterprises by AAR Insurance.
To qualify for the cover, an SME must enlist between three and 99 employees. This is a shift from the previous medical plans offered to SMEs by AAR covering between seven and 20 employees.
AAR Insurance managing director Nixon Shigoli said SMEs lack access to medical cover, partly because most are not tailored to the unique needs of small businesses. However, the new product targeting both owners and employees allows small firms to choose what should be included in the medical cover. This is expected to spur uptake by small businesses.
“Majority of Kenyan businesses fall in the SME category and employ millions of Kenyans. Yet most of them do not provide medical insurance to employees. The productivity of a business depends on the health and well-being of its employees," Shigoli says.
"With our Medical Enterprise Plan for businesses, we want to empower SMEs to take control of what matters to them most in an increasingly competitive environment namely, human capital.”
Medical insurance, he adds, should enable SMEs acquire skilled human capital given that many large firms provide employees with good medical cover and are therefore able to attract and retain the best talent in the market.
Prior to launching the product, AAR Insurance conducted a market survey to better understand the health insurance needs of SMEs.
“Previously, medical insurance policies for SMEs were standard but more clients are demanding tailor-made packages. That’s why we conducted a market survey to gain a better perspective of the SME market,” Shigoli said.
AAR Insurance, which has over 200,000 customers across the country, is now eyeing the huge, untapped SMEs market to grow market share
