Equity Insurance Unit posts Sh640m Profit After Tax

Equity Group Holdings insurance business continued to strengthen its contribution to the lender’s earnings in the first quarter of 2026, emerging as the Group’s third key growth engine after banking and payments.

The Group’s insurance subsidiaries posted a combined 30 percent growth in gross written premiums to KSh4.5 billion during the quarter, while profit before tax rose 53 percent to KSh640 million.

The performance comes as the Group deepens its diversification strategy by embedding insurance products within its broader financial services ecosystem, allowing customers to access banking, lending, payments and insurance services on a single platform.

The insurer’s growth was driven by rising uptake across life, health and general insurance products, with digital channels playing a major role in customer acquisition and policy distribution.

While announcing the Group’s Q1 2026 results, which saw profit after tax rise 24 percent to KSh19.1 billion, Group Managing Director and CEO James Mwangi said the insurance business was increasingly establishing itself among the industry’s top performers.

“In just three years of audited results, our Insurance Group is making its mark across the landscape. Ranking #3 in Return on Assets out of 56 players is a powerful validation of our capital efficiency. By breaking into the top 5 for profitability and top 6 for premiums, we have proven that a customer-centric model can scale at pace without compromising on returns,” said Dr Mwangi.

He added that the business had already broken into the top five most profitable insurers and top six in premiums, demonstrating the scalability of Equity’s customer-focused model.

Life insurance remained the largest contributor to the portfolio, generating KSh2.7 billion in premiums during the quarter. Health insurance contributed KSh1.2 billion while general insurance accounted for KSh600 million.

Equity Life Assurance Kenya remained the strongest-performing subsidiary, posting a 27 percent rise in profit before tax to KSh561 million from KSh442 million a year earlier.

Gross written premiums at the life insurer rose to KSh2.7 billion from KSh2.1 billion, while insurance revenue increased 38 percent to KSh619 million.

The insurer has increasingly relied on digital channels to expand access to insurance products, particularly among underserved customers. As of March 2026, the company had issued 21.3 million policies serving 7.1 million unique customers, with more than 79 percent of policies issued digitally.

The Group says the digital model has simplified onboarding, premium collection and customer access to insurance products, helping accelerate uptake of education plans, savings-linked products and investment-backed insurance solutions.

At the same time, Equity General Insurance Kenya posted a turnaround during the quarter, recording a profit before tax of KSh58 million compared to a KSh7 million loss in the same period last year.

Insurance revenue at the general insurer surged 417 percent to KSh243 million, supported by stronger demand for motor, property and business protection covers among retail and SME customers.

Meanwhile, newly launched Equity Health Insurance Kenya posted KSh1.2 billion in premiums and a profit before tax of KSh17 million in its first quarter of operations.

The results highlight Equity’s growing push to diversify income streams beyond traditional banking while positioning insurance as a strategic pillar of future growth across East and Central Africa.