The insurance industry in Botswana is a growing medium across the country that many Batswana are now increasingly backing. Its penetration is only 2.8% hence this indicates potential growth and competition for the overall insurance companies. It is a way to manage and purchase protection against unexpected financial losses. The risk management factor or medium may come in a form of two segments being; Life insurance and General insurance.
According to the Botswana Insurance Regulations, the market in Botswana is relatively small with a vast growing insurance companies. However there are only about four hundred thousand formally employed adults and there are twenty three insurers offering individual and corporate in life and non-life businesses. General insurance is typically an agreement between a policy holder and insurer when in the insurance company protects their valuable assets. It also provide policy coverage in the form of sum assured against the policy holder’s demise. This segment includes individual insurance, family floater, automobile home insurance and others. In the Other hand, the life insurance provides financial support to surviving dependents or other beneficiaries after the death of an insured policy holder.
Although about 48% of the entire population of Botswana access health care within a 5km radius, only 17% of the general population and 42% of the employed individuals have health insurance coverage while 58% do not have medical aid coverage. The inequity allocation of financial resources between health care suggests marginalization of population-based health care service Even though there is an increase on the short- and long-term insurance companies in Botswana, the market trends tend to impact the insurance industry. These trends includes Banc assurance, funeral service, digitalization, and estate liquidity life cover.
- The bancassurance is an arrangement between a bank and an insurance company allowing the insurance company to sell its products to the bank’s client base.
- Digitalization is the adaptation of a system and process to be operated with the use of computers and the internet. Insures are leveraging digital technologies such as cloud computing and big data.
In an increased digitalized world, the insurance companies has adopted the concept and switched to the use of electronics with their clients. This helps them understand their customers through data analytics to protect data and privacy of their clients, customize customer experience, Al (artificial intelligence) integration. The digital media in Botswana is oftentimes far more cost effective than traditional media. These companies in the insurance industry uphold basic principles such as insurable interest, utmost good faith, proximate cause, indemnity, subrogation, contribution and loss of minimization. The scope of insurance in enables many Batswana to ensure they accumulate themselves different policies that best suits their lifestyles.
