Troubled insurer, Invesco Assurance closed September with the highest number of unpaid claims in the sector, underlining the inconveniences it has left millions of customers after it sank into liquidation last Friday.
Latest data from the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) shows Invesco, popular with insuring matatus, had 3.85 million outstanding liability claims at the end of September, up from 3.69 million at the end of last year.
A liability claim occurs when an insured customer reaches out to an insurance company to pay for loss or damage such as injury or death to a third party.
Invesco managed to settle only 61,906 claims in the quarter that ended September, closing with a claims payment ratio— the number of claims paid against the number of claims filed— of 1.6 percent, the second worst in the industry after Monarch (0.44 percent).
As at the end of March, Invesco had a 10.79 percent market share of motor commercial PSV class of insurance that covers vehicles used by businesses for commercial purposes.
The 10.79 percent market share was third highest after Directline Assurance and African Merchant Assurance which commanded 64.95 percent and 11.4 percent respectively of the motor commercial PSV insurance that includes matatus.
The insurer was placed under statutory management on February 28, 2008, but emerged from it on January 18, 2010, but now finds itself in another difficult phase.
Invesco has been battling court cases over unpaid claims and IRA last Friday cancelled its licence, leaving customers in the hands of the Policyholders Compensation Fund (PCF).
The regulator on Friday said the High Court appointed a liquidator for Invesco over two court cases against the insurer in Malindi and Nairobi.
IRA had on February 24 placed Invesco under liquidation following a petition by Kinyanjui & Company Advocates but the High Court on March 3, directed the regulator to reinstate its licence after the insurer successfully challenged the directive saying the regulator misread court orders.
Kinyanjui & Company Advocates had in July 2019 filed an insolvency petition against Invesco seeking, among other orders, that the insurer be liquidated to settle debts of more than Sh29 million.
In another court case, the insurer was challenging a decree ordering it to pay Sh53.28 million to 60 victims of road traffic accidents.
