Jubilee Holdings Limited (also known as JHL or Jubilee Insurance), East Africa’s largest insurance group, and Allianz, one of the world’s leading insurers and asset managers, have signed an agreement to establish a strategic partnership in the five African countries where Jubilee Insurance currently operates. The partnership covers the general insurance business (also known as the property & casualty insurance segment) in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda as well as the short-term insurance segment in Burundi and Mauritius. JHL will retain ownership of its Life and Pensions operations and its medical insurance business in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
In the proposed partnership structure, Allianz will acquire controlling stakes in each of these businesses for total consideration of KES 10.8 billion (EUR 84 million, USD 100 million) while JHL will retain a significant minority stake. JHL’s subsidiary in Kenya, Jubilee General Insurance Limited is the future joint venture company which will also acquire the business of Allianz Insurance Company of Kenya Limited.
The transaction, which will require regulatory approvals in the five markets as well as a restructuring of JHL’s subsidiaries in Uganda and Tanzania into separate general insurance units, will result in Allianz becoming co-shareholder alongside JHL in five general insurance subsidiaries of the JHL Group, holding between 51% and 66% in each company. On a preliminary pro-forma basis, these general insurance companies represent 12.3%of JHL’s total consolidated net assets of KES 32.3 billion (EUR 252 million, USD 299 million) as at 30 June 2020.
Through this partnership, Jubilee Insurance and Allianz aim to jointly expand and broaden insurance markets across East Africa, leveraging Jubilee Insurance’s deep regional knowledge, extensive networks and brand reputation with the global expertise and capacity of the Allianz Group. The partnership intends to further reinforce JHL’s regional leadership position by bringing international best practices to its customers in East Africa, addressing evolving insurance risks with relevant products, and will support Allianz ambitions to reshape its footprint and gain market leadership in key markets on the African continent.
“We are very pleased with this historic development for Jubilee Insurance,” said Nizar Juma, JHL Chairman. “Over the past decade, we have been approached by a number of international insurers looking to partner with Jubilee to expand into East Africa. With Allianz, we have now identified a partner whose strategic aims are aligned to JHL’s and whose expertise in the general insurance business is able to enhance the range and depth of products and risk management solutions that we can offer to our customers.’’
This strategic partnership will also allow JHL to offer innovative, affordable and technically advanced products to a growing section of the regional population, supporting the ambition to increase insurance awareness and accessibility. Jubilee will, of course, continue to serve its Life and Medical insurance clients with an increased focus on these rapidly growing insurance segments across its core markets.
Coenraad Vrolijk, Regional CEO and Regional Executive Board Member of Allianz Africa, said “Allianz is a leading insurer and investor in key markets in the CIMA (Conférence Interafricaine des Marchés d’Assurance) zone and enjoys strong positioning in Morocco, Nigeria and Ghana. We are keen to enter these key East African markets with substantial market share at the outset and JHL is the best partner to help us achieve this ambition in East Africa. We believe this partnership will foster growth in these markets by delivering innovative solutions and superior quality service made possible by the combined expertise of both organisations”.
