By Kenya’s Policyholders Compensation Fund (PCF) has extended by two months a moratorium barring three insurers under its statutory management from paying claims to policyholders and creditors, according to notices dated Sept. 9 and effective from Sept. 10.
The extension applies to Corporate Insurance Company Limited, Trident Insurance Company Limited and KUSCCO Mutual Assurance Company Limited, all of which remain under statutory management, the PCF said in separate declarations published under Section 67C of Kenya’s Insurance Act, Cap 487.
Under the extension, policyholders will not be able to claim payments from the three insurers for a further two months, though the notices state that policyholders cannot be held liable for any claim rendered unpayable due to the moratorium, citing Section 67C(11) of the Insurance Act
The PCF, a state corporation established under Section 179 of the Insurance Act, was appointed statutory manager of the three firms by Kenya’s Commissioner of Insurance, according to the declarations, which were signed by the fund in its capacity as statutory manager for each company.
The Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) placed Trident Insurance, KUSCCO Mutual Assurance and Corporate Insurance Company under statutory management on March 10, 2026, after the firms failed to meet solvency requirements.
The regulator barred the companies from issuing new policies from March 11, 2026, and urged existing customers to seek alternative cover, warning that policyholders should protect themselves from potential losses.
The PCF initially imposed a six-month moratorium on payments to policyholders, claimants and other creditors, effective March 10, 2026, under powers conferred by Section 67C(10) and Section 67C(11) of the Insurance Act.
That freeze had been due to lapse in September, before the fund moved to extend it by a further two months at the three insurers.
Kenyan regulatory data has put the scale of the shortfall at more than 3.4 billion Kenyan shillings.
The Insurance Regulatory Authority’s claims settlement records showed the three insurers owed more than 3.43 billion shillings in unpaid claims to over 20,000 claimants as of December 2025.
Trident had 1.088 billion shillings in outstanding claims from 10,097 cases, Corporate Insurance Company had 1.24 billion shillings in unpaid claims from 8,182 cases, and KUSCCO Mutual had 1.09 billion shillings owed to 2,573 claimants, the data showed.
The PCF has since begun processing some compensation. The fund said in June that the claims compensation process for Trident Insurance had commenced, with policyholders encouraged to lodge claims, while compensation for KUSCCO Mutual Assurance and Corporate Insurance Company would begin later, with dates to be announced through separate public notices.
The PCF had disbursed 390.85 million shillings to policyholders of the collapsed insurers by late June, as part of efforts to restore public confidence in the sector.
Under Kenyan law, the PCF compensates eligible policyholders up to a statutory cap, which industry commentary has put at 500,000 shillings per claim, and is required to issue public notices before compensation payments to any given insurer begin.
The IRA has said the statutory management arrangements are intended to protect policyholders and the wider public while the financial position of the three companies is assessed, and that the fund is tasked with verifying liabilities and determining a resolution framework for each insurer during the takeover period.
Regulators have described previous interventions of this kind, including at Blue Shield Insurance and Invesco Assurance, as part of a broader pattern of financial distress among smaller Kenyan insurers in recent years.
The PCF notices dated Sept. 9 did not give a reason for the latest two-month extension. The fund said in each declaration that the extension was made in exercise of powers conferred under the Insurance Act upon the retention of the statutory management appointment for each insurer.
Kenya’s insurance industry regulator classifies statutory management as a temporary intervention rather than a formal winding-up, meaning the companies remain licensed entities during the process, with their day-to-day operations run by the appointed manager rather than their original boards.
It was not immediately clear how many further extensions the PCF may seek, or when a decision on the longer-term status of the three insurers — including possible resuscitation plans involving shareholders, or eventual liquidation — will be made public.
The PCF said policyholders and other affected parties would be notified through further public notices of developments regarding the three companies, including the timing of any resumption of claims payments once the current moratorium period ends.
