13/03/2026
๐๐๐ ๐
๐จ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ๐ฌ #๐:
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ป๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ด๐ฒ๐ป๐ (๐ ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ฎ ๐๐ป๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ)
My first formal job was at a large insurance company as a Market Outreach Executive (MoE) a grand title for a 15k salary. In practice, it was the same role as an insurance agent, but the company didnโt want that branding for us, the sales team. In fact, my colleagues in the finance team would introduce themselves as:
โMy name is John, and Iโm an accountant at XX.โ All to avoid being seen as one of the infamous โ๐บ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ฎ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ.โ
Early in my career, we were warned about and read stories of insurance agents who conned clients, especially salaried government workers. They would push policies, close deals fast, and often cheat clients out of the proper understanding of their purchase. For a long time, this tainted the image of insurance agents and of the industry.
My mother, then a primary school teacher, would share rib-cracking stories of how she and her colleagues would literally run away to hide at the sight of a mundu wa insurance in the school compound. They would stay crouched behind bushes until the well-suited, most likely Alico sales agent, disappeared to terrorize another school. Sob!
There were also sad stories of teachers discovering months later that a policy had been deducted from their TSC payslip, many had no idea they had even purchased insurance. None of our Gen Z readers would relate to that today.
๐๐ป๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐๐๐ผ๐น๐๐ฒ๐ฑ
Thankfully, the industry has matured. Life insurance organizations have built strong distribution networks across the country. The Association of Kenya Insurers [AKI] created the highly regarded AKI Annual Awards, not only recognizing top-selling agents but also evaluating persistency, credibility, and quality of sales.
This forces agents to do a thorough job in on boarding clients unlike the old-school agent who asked teachers to sign, collected two to three monthsโ commission, and let the policies lapse.
Today, the agency network is thriving with professional sales agents aka financial advisors impacting Kenya while influencing profitability for the organisations they work for.
๐ฆ๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ณ๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ๐ป๐? ๐ช๐ถ๐น๐น ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ฎ ๐๐ป๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ? ๐ฒ๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ด๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐น ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐?
This is not just a Kenyan question only, globally, insurance companies have wrestled with it. Nearly 20 years ago, an ambitious general insurer attempted to โkill brokersโ by selling directly to consumers via technology. It failed. Was he too early? Was the model viable?
The truth is: the insurance agent is not dying. Their role is evolving. Tomorrowโs agent will not disappear, they will become; Trusted guides, Financial Educators and Digital Influencers. These future-focused agents will drive market pe*******on and growth by educating digitally, building trust, and influencing consumer behavior.
๐๐ฒ๐ป ๐ญ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐ผ๐น๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ด๐ฒ๐ป๐
Brings me to the struggle that a lot of Senior Sales Managers are facing now, โCan Gen Z fit into the role of the traditional โmundu wa insurance?โ Not quite. But the evolving agent role is perfect for them. Tech-savvy, socially connected, and digitally fluent, Gen Z can thrive as trusted guides and digital advocates in their communities. Cut the tedious physical meeting and allow them to sell on TikTok and on X .
The future is bright for current agents who will quickly adopt technology and reinvent themselves. Weโve already seen examples, like the influencer Gichuki Kahome, Ann wa Britam who uses real-life stories to sell complex products such as Whole Life insurance (one of the best products to consider in my opinion)
๐๐๐๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ฑ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐๐ต ๐๐ป๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ
The game changer for life insurance sales is customer education. The product knowledge gap has slowed industry growth. As I always tell my Consumer Behaviour students: "The brand that educates becomes the market leader".
Think OMO or M-Pesa, the brands that teach their consumers win big for many years.
In the Life insurance space, who will own the largest market share? ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ง๐๐๐๐๐๐ฅ.
Aaaaand, the teacher could emerge from anywhere, its an open market right now.
Therefore, Insurance companies must ask themselves: โAre we merely pushing policies or are we equipping agents to be trusted guides and digital advocates in the communities they serve?โ
This foresight is part of BTCโs ongoing research on the future of insurance distribution and consumer behaviour.
Edna Thiong'o
CEO, BTC Group
Part-time Consumer Behaviour Lecturer, UoN
[email protected]
