SME Insurance in Kenya

An SME package (also called a business combined or office package) puts several covers into one policy with one premium and one renewal date. Fire and perils is usually the compulsory core; you then choose sections such as burglary, money, all risks, public liability, WIBA, goods in transit, fidelity guarantee and business interruption. Each section has its own sum insured or limit, so you insure only what your business actually has.

Each insurer sets its own size limit. Published caps include an asset base up to KES 100 million, turnover between KES 300,000 and KES 200 million, a sum insured up to KES 500 million with fewer than 100 staff, or an asset portfolio below KES 1 billion. Some trades, such as garages, timber processing, forex bureaus, mobile money shops, jewellers and premises not of first-class construction, are referred for an individual quote.

Usually, yes. Bundling several covers in one package typically costs 15–30% less than buying them separately (market estimate), and you deal with one proposal, one schedule and one renewal date. Separate policies make sense when one risk is large or specialised, such as a factory's machinery, a fleet or a big contract, or when an insurer will not include your trade in its package.

Published minimum premiums for SME packages start at about KES 10,000 a year, and market estimates put a small office from about KES 20,000, a shop from about KES 25,000 and a restaurant from about KES 45,000 a year, before levies. Your price depends on what you insure and its value, your trade, location, construction, security and claims history. Statutory levies and stamp duty are added on top.

Yes, but tell the insurer the business runs from your home. Some office packages are written only for commercial premises, so a home business is often quoted section by section: all risks for laptops and phones, stock cover, public liability if clients visit, and cyber cover if you take payments or hold customer data online. Do not assume your home policy covers business stock or equipment; ask before you rely on it.

Expect to provide a completed proposal form, your KRA PIN, a certificate of registration or incorporation, a CR12 for limited companies, and the ID or passport of the person signing (some covers, such as bonds, ask for every director's ID). The insurer will also want a list of what you are insuring and its value, staff numbers and annual earnings for WIBA, your premises' construction and security, and three years' claims history.

Often, yes. At least one insurer states that its SME package can be paid in instalments, and several offer premium financing, where a bank or financier pays the annual premium and you repay it monthly, usually with interest. Others expect the full premium before cover starts. Ask for the total cost of financing, not just the monthly figure, and keep payments up: a missed instalment can end the cover.

Insure each item at what it would cost to replace today: for equipment, the new price plus duty, transport and installation; for buildings, the cost of rebuilding, which a valuer can assess, not the market price of the property; and for stock, your highest normal level, not the average. Under-insuring triggers the average clause and reduces any claim in proportion.

Most property policies carry an 'average' condition: if you insure for less than the true value, the insurer cuts your claim in proportion. Insure a property worth KES 10 million for KES 5 million and a KES 2 million loss pays about KES 1 million. Review your sums insured at every renewal, especially stock that rises during busy seasons.

Naveah Capital is an insurance agency that compares 9+ of Kenya's top insurers, so you see several packages and prices for your trade instead of one. We check the sections, limits, excesses and warranties that decide claims, flag covers a landlord, lender or tender will ask for, and help you when you need to claim. Tell us about your business on WhatsApp or the quote form to start.