Leading integrated communications provider
Safaricom Limited has partnered with leading insurer Britam, Changamka
Microhealth - one of Kenya’s pioneering mobile Health Financing technology providers
and PSI, a leading
global health organization to launch Linda Jamii, an innovative and affordable
healthcare insurance option.
Targeted at more
than 35 million uninsured Kenyans, the Kshs.12, 000 per Family premium cover
will provide clients with access to a comprehensive medical cover comprising in
and out patient cover, maternity cover and a hospitalization income replacement
benefit of Kshs.500 per day, to take care of lost income while in hospital.
The premiums are
payable in installments via MPESA, with quality healthcare being available after accumulating Kshs. 6,000 and the balance being saved in a premium deposit
facility on the user’s mobile phone.
Speaking at the
launch event, Britam’s Group Managing Director Benson Wairegi said the health
services will be offered through leading public and mission hospitals where
starting from when the deposit is paid., families will thereafter have up to
six months to pay the difference, for the annual cover.
“A majority of the
families we are targeting have little disposable income and are therefore not
able to raise enough money to get a health insurance cover, given the payment
options available. The downside is that these are the same families who delay
seeking health care, making treatment more complicated and therefore expensive
in the long run, “ he added.
Linda Jamii
will offer inpatient and outpatient covers for a family of two parents and an
unlimited number of children, and will cover HIV and other pre-existing
conditions. It will also cater for funeral expenses in the unfortunate event of
the death of those insured.
Safaricom’s Chief
Executive Officer, Bob Collymore said Linda
Jamii is yet another innovative proposition that demonstrates the
convenience that M-PESA affords customers. He explained that lack of adequate
healthcare coverage entrenches poverty among a majority of Kenyans.
“Linda Jamii is a timely product at a
time when cancer, diabetes and other potentially expensive illnesses are on the
rise. It is worrying that more than 35 million Kenyans are still not able to access
timely and quality healthcare because most insurance products are designed to
suit high income earners,” he noted.
“With over 15.2
million customers already using M-PESA, “ Collymore added, “we believe that we
can help boost initiatives aimed at helping raise a generation of health
Kenyans who will be instrumental in helping achieve the objectives of Vision
2030”.
Changamka has
installed an end to end internet based electronic platform which is hosted on
the Safaricom cloud; and with the capacity to manage more than 100 million
insurance policies. The technology enables users to save little by little using
MPESA until the required threshold is reached.
The product is an
innovation that enables individuals register on a mobile phone, thus tackling
the age old problem of distribution of Microinsurance products. In addition
healthcare services are provided on either a computer or an internet enabled
mobile phone.
Ends....
No comments:
Post a Comment