How Comprehensive Car Insurance works in Kenya

Comprehensive is the best car insurance policy on the market in the Kenya. Below we look into the details of the cover, prices, how to get the cover and finally what happens in the event of an insurance claim.

When it comes to getting a motor insurance cover in Kenya, one is faced with 3 choices:

  • Comprehensive
  • Third Party Only (TPO)
  • Third Party Fire &Theft (TP

The TPO cover is the most popular cover on the market because it is the most cost friendly starting at KSh 5,063. It is also the lowest cover required and mandated by law to be able to operate a motor vehicle on Kenyan roads according to the traffic act Cap 405

In this series, we shall look at the comprehensive insurance cover and explore how it works, what it covers, how to get on cover and the claims process!

Car Insurance Companies

Most of the companies offering General Insurance products also offer car insurance. While all companies will offer this for private cars and commercial vehicles, most have already shied away for PSV related vehicles like UBER/Taxify and Matatu buses. Therefore, when getting comprehensive car insurance, shop around and see where you could get the best value for money.

The table below shows a typical comprehensive car insurance policy offered in Kenya and what is covered

COVER LIMIT (KSh)
Third party property damage 20,000,000
Death Injury to any one person 3,000,000
Death Injury any one event Unlimited
Passenger legal Liability one person 4,000,000
Passenger Legal Liability One event 20,000,000
Authorised Repair Limit 50,000
Emergency Medical Expenses 50,000
Towing 50,000
Windscreen damage 50,000
Entertainment Unit 50,000
Floods, Earthquakes, Thunder Covered
Riot, Strikes, Fire Covered

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Windscreen and Radio Cover

This is a special section of the comprehensive car insurance cover. It normally covers from KSh 30,000 up to KSh 100,000 for damages or loss to the windscreen and car entertainment system separately. While car radio thefts were prevalent in the past, they are much less common presently, windscreen damage is the most common on this cover. Customers can also buy a higher limit of insurance for this section at a price, which is normally 10% of the additional limit required. For example, to buy an extra KSh 50,000 of windscreen cover, one pays KSh 5,000.

In case of damage, this cover is not subject the excess requirements on the insurance policy. The damage claim is admissible however small. Many car insurance companies will normally settle such a claim on re-imbursement. This means that the insured will repair the damages and present receipts for re-imbursement.

In addition, after a claim has been admitted and settled, the client has to buy a windscreen cover re-instatement at a cost of 10% of the windscreen limit on the policy

Accidental Damage and Theft

This is the biggest and most often claimed part of the comprehensive car insurance policy. This covers against physical damage to the insured vehicle from road accidents caused by the insured and third parties. The motor policy will then foot the costs of towing, inspection and repairs subject to the excess terms discussed in the section below.

Car Insurance Theft
Car Insurance – Theft

In addition, comprehensive insurance in Kenya covers partial and full theft of the vehicle. Partial theft is where parts and accessories like tyres, side mirrors, etc are stolen while full theft the entire vehicle is taken. Again, this insurance covers these losses subject to excess terms.

Excess Protector

This is the most recommended add-on to the basic comprehensive car insurance. It kicks in when an accident has occurred and the vehicle is to be repaired. As the name suggests, it protects the insured against paying excesses from their own pocket. The excess payable is normally set at 2.5% of the vehicle value for private cars and 5% of vehicle value for PSV and commercial cars. It is also subject to a minimum of about KSh 20,000. Check your quotes and policy schedule for more details and specific values for the policy. If the damage repair costs exceed these figures, the excess protector kicks in and the insured does not have to pay a penny out of pocket. For a detailed explanation of the excess protector, description and examples of the different scenarios, check out this excess protector guide

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Motor Insurance Rates and NCD

When it comes to rates for comprehensive car insurance in Kenya, it’s all about compare and shop around. Generally, the rate will be between 3-4% of the market value of your car for the basic comprehensive cover. The insurance industry in Kenya introduced the concept of the No Claims Discount (NCD) in the early 2000 but this concept failed to take off. It promised to reward good drivers with no insurance claims with low prices while punishing high claiming clients. However due to lack of information sharing in the industry and vigorous undercutting, it failed to take off.

It is always advisable to add excess protector for own damage and political violence and terrorism (PVT) cover to the basic comprehensive cover. These normally go for 0.25% each of the value of the car to be insured subject to a minimum of KSh 1,500 each. While these are the most common add-ons, you can check out additional benefits and their prices on a comparison site like www.pesabazaar.com

Car Insurance Fire
Car Insurance – Fire

How To Make a Car Insurance Claim

With the high number of vehicles on the roads, the NTSA statistics reports over 683 people have lost their lives in 2019 as a result of road accidents. Therefore, in case of an accident, don’t panic. Get out of your vehicle and step away from the scene. Do not accept liability of any kind. Wait for the police to arrive and get in touch with your agent/broker. They advise on how to lodge a claim and help you with towing, paper work, accident assessors and garages. It is therefore crucial to have a good agent/broker for when the bad times come.

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Third Party Car Insurance – Costs and Benefits

Third Party Only car insurance is the most common cover and the minimum required for any vehicle to operate on Kenyan roads. In this article we examine the costs and benefits of a typical cover for different classes of vehicles.

It is mandatory by law for every motor vehicle on Kenyan roads to be fully insured as per the Kenya Law Cap 405.

Therefore, the Third Party Only (TPO) is the most common car insurance in part because it is necessitated by the law and also it is the most affordable option.

Old / Cheap Cars

Many insurance companies in the market only offer TPO covers for cars that are above 15 years of age or below KSh 500,000 in market value. This is because these two categories of cars would be prone to write off in case of accident due to the high relative repair cost and also shortage of spare parts for the old model cars.

Third Party motor insurances are also common with car dealers who need temporary insurance to drive the vehicles on the roads. This is the 1 month car insurances that go for as low as KSh 2,000. Check out the details of the 1 month car insurance by following this link  

To better understand the Third Party Only (TPO) motor insurance, let’s take a look at an example schedule of the liabilities covered and typical limits borne by the insurance company.

Liability Limit (KSh)
Third party property damage 20,000,000
Third Party bodily injury/death any one person 3,000,000
Third Party bodily injury/death any one event UNLIMITED
Passenger Legal Liability – per person 3,000,000
Passenger Legal Liability – per year 20,000,000

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Private Cars

This is the most common cars that take out this TPO cover. This is mainly for the cars that are either too old or low value car. The cover is usually for calendar although it is possible to get a 1-month cover at a cost of KSh 2,500.

For the annual cover, the cost of the insurance is normally charged from as low as KSh 5,063 up to KSh 7,574.

Commercial Cars

For commercial vehicles, the third party insurance varies depending on the purpose of the vehicle. In this class, we are talking about vehicles like tippers, pickups, canters, lorries and others of the same nature. Further, there are two categories:

Own Goods Carriage

This is where the insured vehicle is used by the owner to carry goods for his/her personal business. This is common with pickups and canters owned by companies and used in the transportation/delivery of company goods.

Below an example for the First Assurance Motor Commercial for Own goods insurance premiums rates

Tonnage Insurance Cost (KSh)
0-3 7,500
4-8 12,000
9-10 18,000
11-20 20,000
21-30 25,000

Commercial Goods / General Cartage

This class refers to the bigger commercial vehicles like lorries, tippers, trailers and others that are owned by mainly transport companies and are used to transport goods for other entities for reward. As such, the liabilities on this kind of vehicles is much higher than other commercial vehicles. The cost of TPO for a commercial starts at KSh 25,000 for a 30 tonne trailer.

PSV Chauffeur Drive (UBER/LITTLE/TAXIFY)

This is the second most common category of cars on the Kenyan roads. This comes after the explosion of the on demand ride hailing industry globally and in the region. It is called Chauffeur Driven because in practice only driver is in charge of the vehicle. For this category, not many insurance companies in Kenya offer the TPO cover so it’s advisable to shop around. The price starts from KSh 4,310 for a month inclusive of Passenger Legal Liability for 4 passengers and all taxes and levies. For the annual cover the price starts from KSh 9,586 again all-inclusive. Because of the nature of this class, it is mandatory to have PLL cover because of the fare paying passengers.

PSV Self Drive / Car Hire
These types of vehicles are mainly owned by leasing companies. They are for short to long-term lease where the customer drives him/herself. Because of this nature of business, it can be a high-risk business. Cars are exposed to different types of drivers who have little financial interest/incentive to use the vehicle properly. For this reason many car insurance companies in Kenya don’t insure vehicles operating under this business. The price for this starts from KSh 12,000 for the basic cover and then KSh 500 PLL for each passenger in the car. Taxes and levies include the stamp duty at KSh 40 and Policy Holders Compensation Fund (PHCF) at 0.45% of the basic insurance premium.

Special Vehicles

Special Types Vehicles Insurance

The cost of the TPO insurance for special vehicles depends on the nature of the vehicle. Here we are talking about caterpillars, loaders, harvesters and other specialised types of vehicles. For example, a 2012 forklift cover will cost you KSh 5,000. Similarly, the cost is unchanged for a forklift. A TPO cover for a tanker of 15 tonnes will cost you approximately KSh 25,000. To get a good deal for these vehicles, it’s advisable to have the specifics at hand and get a tailor made quote.

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If you are looking for more information about third party car insurance or you want to compare insurance quotations, simply get in touch with us by chatting to an insurance expert online right now. In addition you can also compare real time quotes for third party car insurance by following this link