CIC Insurance Group has launched three digital channels that let customers, agents and brokers manage insurance and financial services on their own. The channels are the My CIC App, the CIC online portal and the USSD code *304#. They serve Kenya and the group’s regional markets.
The group calls the set One CIC. It also describes it as a step toward its Insurtech goal, the use of technology to deliver insurance. Through any of the three, customers and intermediaries can reach CIC General Insurance, CIC Life Insurance, CIC Impact (the group’s microinsurance arm) and CIC Asset Management.
Three channels, three ways to reach CIC
Each channel suits a different user. The My CIC App and the online portal give customers end to end self service and a view of their full portfolio. The USSD code serves people who do not use smartphones and works on any handset.
The launch supports CIC’s push to widen access to insurance and investments and to narrow Kenya’s insurance protection gap, the distance between the cover people carry and the cover they need.
CEO says customers choose how they reach CIC
Group Managing Director and CEO Patrick Nyaga spoke at an intermediary engagement session, where agents and brokers practised using the new channels.
“Through our Insurtech proposition, we are simplifying our customers’ experience while giving them greater choice in how they interact with financial services,” Nyaga said. “The One CIC digital channels enhance the experience of both our customers and our intermediaries while giving them the freedom to select their preferred channel.”
Two contact centres back the channels. “In addition, the channels are supported by two 24 hour contact centres, one dedicated for health insurance while the second one supports all our other customer engagements,” he added.
Agents and brokers can run their whole client book online
Intermediaries can manage their entire client portfolio through the app or the portal. They can generate quotes, view their commissions and start claims on behalf of customers. They can also sell products from different CIC business lines from one place. An attributable referral link lets them sign up new customers directly on the digital channels, and the system credits each sign up to the intermediary who made it.
Stephen Muriithi, owner of Earnest Insurance Agency, said his agency helped CIC build this agency module for both the app and the portal. “We were privileged to work alongside the CIC digital team,” he said at the launch. He called the module “a testament to the CIC Insurtech capabilities.”
The launch extends CIC’s digital spending
The channels build on earlier moves. In April 2024, CIC said it would invest about KES 40 million in digital technology to improve customer experience. It also launched EasyBima and the Medipal app, which cover digital motor insurance and claims tracking.
The Insurance Regulatory Authority has named digitalisation and user friendly platforms as key drivers of wider insurance access and inclusion. CIC now has three channels, and two contact centres behind them, to put that to the test.
