Key Success Factors in Kenya’s Insurance Industry

Abstract

Key success factors for an industry are the two or three areas where companies must be distinctively better than its rivals in order to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. The researcher undertook this research study to determine the Key Success factors for the insurance industry in Kenya and the extent of their impact on the companies’ competitive advantage and also to establish the extent to which insurance companies in Kenya have capitalized on the industry’s KSFs in order to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. The study was conducted in Nairobi in August 2013 as census survey for all the 47 insurance companies in Kenya. Data was collected by the use of questionnaires which was dropped and picked later to the 47 respondents by the researcher. The results indicated that Kenya insurance industry key success factors at this particular point in time are: the ability to efficiently process claims and payments, ability to provide quality and convenient customer service, ability to have aggressive sales force, ability to formulate and implement strategies and the ability to maintain superior brand image. The study also found out that majority of the Kenya insurance companies have greatly ignored the industry’s KSFs. It was concluded that these five are the key success factors for the Kenya insurance industry at this particular point in time and that insurance companies in Kenya must develop focused strategies around the KSFs if they are to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. It was recommended that the strategists of insurance companies in Kenya need to continuously assess the industry’s KSFs in order to develop strategies that are of value to their customers and that they need to strategize on capitalizing on the industry’s KSFs if they are to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. Suggestion for further study point at the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) conducting a similar study being the body entrusted with the responsibility of overseeing and ensuring growth of insurance penetration in Kenya. This is because the insurance companies would freely give information to them without fear of unfair competition. Further study also need to be carried out to determine the extent to which insurance companies strategist understand the concept of key success factors in relation to strategic management.