The Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) wants to establish a framework for mandatory continuous professional education for insurance agents in line with the newly enacted law.
The regulator has opened the search for a consultant to develop a structured, competency-based framework for continuous professional development (CPD) for at least 30 hours per year.
The move is in line with the Insurance Professionals Bill 2024, which President William Ruto assented into law mid-June, providing for compulsory ongoing training for all insurance professionals.
“The primary objective of this assignment is to design a structured and sustainable framework for continuous education of insurance agents. This framework will ensure that agents remain knowledgeable, ethical, and adaptable to evolving industry trends and requirements.”
IRA says the training modules will cover contents relating to treating customers fairly, anti-money laundering, ethics, regulations, insurance products, fraud, complaints handling, claims handling, or any additional topics.
The move provides a clue on what will be expected of insurance professionals under the new law. The programme will offer accredited training sessions, workshops, and seminars, monitor and record CPD activities and ensure that professionals meet the required standards.
IRA is mandated to license all persons and companies involved in or connected with the insurance business. For instance, the IRA issues a certificate of proficiency (COP) to insurance agents.
The regulator introduced the COP programme in 1997 to equip insurance agents with knowledge and skills to effectively sell insurance products. Before this, insurance companies provided only basic, unstructured training on insurance products, allowing individuals to sell insurance with little formal insurance training.
“This lack of standardisation contributed to mis-selling and misrepresentation of insurance products, ultimately damaging the industry’s reputation and lowering public trust in insurance services,” according to the IRA.
IRA data shows Kenya’s insurance industry had 14,560 insurance agents at the end of December 2024 and accounts for most of the gross written premiums, making them a key cog in driving insurance uptake.
The regulator says the majority of the practicing agents underwent training when the COP programme was introduced in 1997 and have to date not updated their knowledge and skills despite the industry having seen major changes over the past three decades.
“Their current level of knowledge coupled with rapidly emerging trends in the insurance industry hinder these agents from selling insurance effectively. As a result, there is a growing need to ensure that insurance agents remain knowledgeable about emerging industry trends, ethical standards, and regulatory requirements.”
IRA says while there may be a few agents that have continually developed their skills to keep abreast with emerging trends, it currently does not have a system of monitoring this continuous education.
