Critical Success Factors in the Insurance Industry in Kenya

Abstract

Critical success factors (CSFs) arc tasks or attributes that should receive priority attention by management because they most strongly drive performance. Due to competition. "key success factors are the minimum capabilities that a company must master to enter the competition" ami therefore they must be identified and analyscd as they are the elements that determine a company's strategic success or failure. emphasizing its destructive competence to ensure competitive advantage. Research indicates that organizations that possess strength in their official success factor outperform their competitors. These factors vary from company to company and from one industry to another. The objectives of the study were t(l idcntifv the Critical Success Factors in the lnsurancc Industry in Kcnva. to determine the challenges experienced hv Insurance firms in aligning to the Critical Success Factors and also to establish ho« insurance firms have addressed the challenges ofalignment to th' Critical Success lactor« in the industry. The design 0[' this study was descriptive research design. The target population was senior managers in each of the insurance firms that were licensed. ., The researcher sampled 43 senior managers i.e. one senior manager in each insurance company, although 30 respondents responded ami returned the questionnaires. - Data was collected using semi-structured questionnaires and was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Tile data was coded and entered and analyzed using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences and excel packages and presented through percentages. means, standard deviations and frequencies. lrom the filldillgs. the stud: established that the insurance firms adopted various Critical Success Factors ill order to remain competitive in the market. Although the firms faced some challenges in aligning tu the Critical Success Factors. they employed some measures to address these challenges in order to remain competitive in the market. and it was also recommended that in order for the insurance com panics to remain com petiti ve in the industry they should ensure that they charge reasonable premiums to customers, In addition. the study has established that good customer service is a key success factor for insurance companies as this assists in the retention of existing business and acquisition of new business. Insurance companies should ensure staff are well trained in the area of Information technology so as to cope with the demands of the business ami provide reliable information for decision making, Low operating costs was identified as being critical to the success of insurance firms as this tended to increase overall profitability. Expeditious settlement of claims was identified as an area where insurance firms can grow their market share through business retention and new businesses acquisition (1S a re-sult (1" the confidence that customers gain when claims arc paid ill the shortest time possible