The underwriter Sanlam Kenya, has recorded a huge loss for the period ended June to record Ksh.291.9 million from a narrower loss of Ksh.99.1 million in June last year.
An almost triple loss has been attributed to swollen claims and payouts to policyholders for the period under review.
Sanlam’s net claims and policyholder benefits rose by almost twofold to Ksh.4.1 billion from Ksh.2.5 billion last year.
This pushes up its total benefits, claims and other expenses in the period to a higher Ksh.6.2 billion from Ksh.4.4 billion.
“At Sanlam Kenya Plc, we have also been affected by COVID-19, which has accelerated life and general insurance policy claims, but we expect swift recovery as the pandemic containment measures including mass vaccinations begin to bear fruit,” said Sanlam Kenya Group CEO Patrick Tumbo.
The underwriter’s written premiums improved by 37.2 percent to Ksh.5.9 billion to lift the Group’s total income in the period.
It also saw a rebound in cash generation in the six months, yielding Ksh.742.6 million after the consumption of Ksh.459.9 million last year.
Sanlam says it has restructured Ksh.2.9 billion loans into a Ksh.3 billion facility with a local bank to mitigate against future forex losses occasioned by the weakening of the shilling against the US dollar.
“The debt restructuring which commenced in 2020 is now complete, and it will provide much-needed relief as the Forex loss risk is now mitigated going forward,” added Dr. Tumbo.
