Microinsurer aYo Uganda says it is on track to surpass the 4 million customer enrolment mark by the end of 2022 as awareness and the need of insurance grows in the local market.

Allan Lwanga, the CEO of aYo Uganda, says the micro insurer is currently signing up 100,000 new customers per month. The company offers Hospitalisation and Life Insurance Cover through its two insurance products, ‘Send with Care’ and ‘Recharge with Care’.

“The market perception of insurance in general is changing. We saw a significant increase in awareness of financial service products like microinsurance during 2021, with growing numbers of Ugandan consumers purchasing cover to protect themselves and their families in the event of hospitalisation or loss of life,” said Lwanga.

Microinsurance is seen as a powerful enabler of financial inclusion in African markets, providing a much-needed social safety net that helps vulnerable people and particularly people with low incomes to stay afloat when the unexpected happens.

This is particularly important in a developing country such as Uganda, where lower income households and informal traders have been hard-hit by the pandemic, as it has reduced their ability to generate an income.

aYo Uganda’s ‘Send with Care’ and ‘Recharge with Care’ products cater for all prepaid MTN subscribers. aYo Recharge with Care offers life and hospital insurance cover every time customers recharge their MTN airtime. Subscribers can sign up to aYo Recharge with Care by dialling *296# on their mobile phones, and can use the same ussd string for filing claims. Valid claims are paid directly to the claimant’s mobile money wallet without any hassle.

With Send with Care, aYo provides up to triple the amounts that customers have sent via MTN Mobile Money over the previous four months. Life cover pays out to their family in the event of their passing, and hospital cover pays straight into their MTN Mobile Money account if they spend one night or more in hospital due to an accident or illness. When customers send MTN Mobile Money, they simply select aYo Send with Care when prompted*, or dial *165*1*4#.