By Alfred Zacharia
Dar es Salaam-Technology
is the engine driving our expansion. Still, human trust remains the absolute
anchor of our industry,” stated Lugano Mkisi, the Legal Counsel and National
Chairperson of the Insurance Agents Association of Tanzania (IAAT).
In
line with this mandate on the future of risk management, Tanzania’s insurance
industry will gather in Dar es Salaam on August 20, 2026, for the IAAT Annual
General Meeting and Journal Launch.
The landmark event is expected
to be launched by the Minister of Finance, Amb.
Khamis Mussa Omar, and closed by the Minister of State in the
President's Office for Youth Development, Joel
Nanauka, who will be pushing for sustainable youth employment.
The landmark event is expected
to bring together policymakers, insurers, agents, technology firms, and
financial sector stakeholders to examine how digital innovation is transforming
insurance while preserving the vital role of human agents.
Held under the theme “Bridging
Technology and Communities: The Future Role of Insurance Agents in Tanzania,”
the high-level meeting comes at a critical juncture, as insurers across East
Africa are aggressively investing in digital platforms to expand financial
inclusion without compromising the fundamental trust that remains central to
insurance.
At
a recently held East African insurance industry conference, the central
contradictions in the region’s digital transformation of insurance emerged
clearly: while rolling out digital tools such as artificial intelligence,
mobile applications, data analytics, and automated claims systems to boost
efficiency, ensuring customers can continuously access reliable consultation and
support is an especially critical issue in markets with low insurance
penetration.
Based
on global digitalisation practices in the insurance industry, insurers have
used technology to simplify underwriting, improve fraud detection, speed up
claims processes, and support risk assessment with AI. They also rely on
connected devices and vehicle telematics to develop customised products based
on customer behaviour.
These innovations have reduced
costs and improved efficiency in mature markets, but industry experts warn that
no single technology can solve the longstanding industry challenge of building
customer trust.
Insurance products are
inherently complex; customers purchase coverage to prepare for uncertain future
risks. First-time insurance buyers, especially those with limited financial
literacy, still depend on professional advisors to help them make decisions.
For this reason, most insurers worldwide have adopted a hybrid “digital
platform + professional consultation” model, rather than full automation.
When this balanced logic is
implemented in East Africa, the region’s insurance penetration rate is far
lower than that of advanced economies, but its stable growth in mobile finance
has created conditions to deliver affordable insurance to underserved populations.
Three mobile money services in
Tanzania, M-Pesa, Tigo Pesa, and Airtel Money, enable millions of people to
complete transactions despite a lack of traditional banking infrastructure.
Local insurers are leveraging these systems to launch microinsurance for
low-income households, micro- and small-enterprises, and rural communities.
Digitalisation has eliminated
four major barriers to purchasing insurance: customers can buy policies via
mobile phones, receive premium reminders via text messages, submit claims
online, and access policy details without visiting physical branches. This not
only cuts insurers’ costs but also improves access for people in remote areas.
However, expanding digital
insurance requires more than technological infrastructure; consumer awareness,
financial literacy, and trust in institutions are equally important.
Data from the World Bank, FinScope, and TIRA show that regional market penetration
remains low. Their studies confirm that low product literacy, institutional
mistrust, and anxieties about delayed claims are the primary barriers to
broader insurance adoption.
Technology can streamline many
processes in the insurance industry, but it cannot replace the trust customers
rely on when making important financial decisions. This is the core premise of
the insurance industry’s digital transformation: digitalisation is not about
phasing out intermediaries, but about reshaping the scope of work for insurance
agents.
Studies by the Tanzania
Insurance Regulatory Authority and the African Insurance Organisation note that
automating routine operational processes, such as premium calculation and
policy management, can effectively drive the growth of insurance institutions.
A global report from Swiss Re corroborates
this finding, stating that administrative process automation frees insurance
agents from burdensome paperwork, enabling them to shift their focus to three
high-value service categories: personalised consulting, consumer risk
education, and localised claims settlement and rights protection.
This shift is particularly
critical in emerging markets with weak public awareness of insurance, and it
manifests in three core service scenarios: explaining agricultural insurance to
farming households, explaining health insurance to ordinary families, and
explaining business insurance to micro and small entrepreneurs.
A local Tanzanian proverb,
“Uwakala ni Uaminifu (Agency is trust)”, vividly captures the value of agents
as a bond of trust and confirms that local customers consistently prioritise
direct interactions with agents during policy purchase and claims processes.
For this reason, insurance
companies in Tanzania have invested in digital tools that complement rather
than replace agent networks, such as customer relationship management systems,
digital policy platforms, mobile applications, and others.
These tools not only help agents
reach previously hard-to-access communities but also reduce administrative
burdens through electronic documents, shorten policy activation times, and
optimise record management via electronic payments, enabling agents to devote
more time to customer consultation. This shift brings new regulatory
responsibilities spurred by digitalisation.
As insurance companies collect
more customer data and adopt cloud computing, electronic signatures, and
automated underwriting systems, regulators must balance innovative development
and consumer protection. Issues including cybersecurity, data privacy, algorithmic
transparency, and digital fraud are critical to insurance markets worldwide,
including those in East Africa.
Tanzania must strengthen
regulation to maintain public trust, and policymakers currently face the core
challenge of “encouraging innovation while ensuring digital insurance
compliance and protecting consumer rights and interests”.
Industry participants propose that a clear
regulatory framework can support both insurance companies’ confidence in
technological investment and policyholders’ rights and interests.
All the aforementioned issues
will be core topics of the IAAT conference. The conference will explore how
legal reforms, technological innovation, and industry standards can support the
industry’s sustainable growth and will also provide an opportunity for all
types of stakeholders to exchange, collaborate, and share experiences to expand
insurance access.
This think piece focuses on Tanzania’s
insurance industry’s digital transformation, arguing that the sector’s
transformation must rely on a model of complementary technology and human
resources to advance inclusive development through multi-stakeholder
coordination.
The dimension of workforce
development, which serves as the core support for the transformation, is first clarified:
beyond traditional professional competencies, insurance agents need to develop
four new capabilities, namely digital literacy, customer data management,
online communication, and familiarity with emerging technologies.
Sustained vocational training is
identified as an essential requirement to adapt to the market’s rapid changes.
The industry conference, to be held in Dar es Salaam on August 20, will gather
more than 1,200 insurance agents, representatives from over 90 institutions,
and participants from multiple economic sectors.
Attendees include government
leaders, regulators, and industry executives, and the conference’s core agenda
covers advancing public-private sector dialogue to expand insurance coverage
and strengthen financial resilience, coordinating efforts to advance financial
protection across East Africa, and balancing the relationship between
innovation, consumer protection, and inclusive growth.
While insurance
anchors economic stability, digitalisation faces three main hurdles: spotty
internet coverage, rising cybersecurity threats, and the complexity of serving
elderly or remote populations. Overcoming these requires infrastructure
investment, targeted consumer education, and stronger regulatory capacity.
East Africa’s digital shift aims to expand customer reach, boost efficiency, and optimise services. Tanzania’s early leadership proves that technology and human agents are complementary, setting a clear blueprint for regional development at this conference.
