Safaricom, Kenya’s leading telco has begun looking for proposals for a comprehensive device insurance solution, aiming to have the insurance solution to cover over 1 million devices and integrate with the company’s existing systems leveraging Safaricom Insurance Agency Limited (SIAL).

The communication service provider has grouped the coverage tiers into three, namely; Tier 1 covering screen only(accidental screen damage), Tier 2 covering screen and physical damage, and Tier 3 comprehensive cover(physical damage, loss, and theft).

The coverage will be for devices valued from Ksh 5000 to Ksh 300,000.

In the proposal, Safaricom Seeks to find an insurance partner who will offer embedded and opt-in distribution models.

The risk covered will include accidental damage, liquid damage, theft, fire, natural disaster, mechanical or electrical breakdown, and international travel incidents.

The insurance partner’s will ne tasked with duties that includes management, that is, ensuring approvals are made within 24 hours. It will also make sure that repair and replacements are done within 7 working days.

Furthermore, the partners should ensure genuine claim processing and that they should be compatible with Safaricom’s IT infrastructure, 99.9% uptime, and API-based data exchange.

The proposed insurance solution must enable paperless claims submission and tracking, integrate seamlessly with Safaricom’s platforms and payment systems like M-Pesa, provide omnichannel access with high scalability for a growing customer base, adhere to stringent cybersecurity standards, and outline how it will utilize the resources and expertise of Safaricom Insurance Agency Limited (SIAL) for effective service delivery.

Meanwhile, Safaricom is facing challenges in Ethiopia as local users predominantly use their M-PESA service for purchasing airtime and data bundles rather than for money transfers, which has been a core function in Kenya.

Despite having a significant M-PESA subscriber base in Ethiopia, the usage pattern differs markedly from its Kenyan counterpart.

This preference for airtime and data purchases over traditional money transfer services has led Safaricom to reassess its strategy in this new market.

According to reports, the Ethiopian market has not embraced M-PESA for financial transactions in the same way as Kenyans did. Instead, Ethiopians have shown a clear preference for using M-PESA mainly for telecom-related purchases.

This trend is in stark contrast to Kenya, where M-PESA is a dominant player in financial transactions, significantly contributing to Safaricom’s revenue.

The CEO of Safaricom Ethiopia, Wim Vanhelleputte, mentioned in interviews that while there’s growth in active voice and data users, converting these users to engage with other M-PESA services like sending cash, borrowing, or paying for insurance remains a challenge.

This shift in usage patterns has prompted Safaricom to focus on enhancing the utility of M-PESA for telecom services while looking for ways to stimulate broader financial service adoption.