Old Mutual Life Assurance Kenya (OMLAK) has revamped a range of life and savings solutions aimed at strengthening long term savings, education planning and financial security among Kenyan households.
Access Has Grown, But Saving Habits Lag
The revamp responds to a gap between financial access and financial behaviour.
Formal financial access in Kenya rose to 84.8 percent in 2024, up from 83.7 percent in 2021, according to the 2024 FinAccess Household Survey, conducted by the Central Bank of Kenya alongside the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics and FSD Kenya.
Old Mutual’s own research points to a different problem. The company’s 2025 Financial Wellness Monitor found that 91 percent of working Kenyans surveyed have a savings goal, yet 40 percent reported dipping into savings to cover everyday expenses. Access to accounts has grown steadily. Consistent saving toward a defined goal has not kept pace.
That gap points to demand for structured products that keep households anchored to specific targets: education, home ownership, family protection and other long term priorities.
What Old Mutual Says Drove the Change
Old Mutual Life Assurance Kenya Managing Director Martin Karenju linked the revamp directly to that tension between ambition and pressure.
“Kenyans clearly want to save and build a better financial future, but they are doing so while managing significant pressures today. Our responsibility is to provide solutions that help customers balance today’s needs with tomorrow’s ambitions,” Karenju said.
The upgrades touch several existing product lines rather than introducing an entirely new range. Changes include investment terms stretched to 20 years on selected plans, revised charges and surrender terms set in the customer’s favour, higher guaranteed maturity values, and adjustments to benefits that support longer education planning timelines.
Old Mutual Group CEO Arthur Oginga framed the shift as a change in how the company sells rather than just what it sells.
“A customer does not necessarily wake up thinking about an insurance or savings product. They are thinking about paying for their child’s education, buying a home, protecting their family or having enough money when they retire. We need to begin with that goal and then help them identify the solution that can get them there,” Oginga said.
Old Mutual has built a track record with digital savings tools, including the Lengo Digital Savings plan it launched to let customers manage contributions online. The current revamp extends that same goal based logic across the wider product shelf.
What Changed Across the Product Range
| Category | Product | Key features |
|---|---|---|
| Market linked | Lengo 2 in 1 (Education and Investment Plans) | Minimum monthly premium of KES 7,000. Lump sum top ups and pre maturity withdrawals allowed. Terms extended to 20 years, up from a previous cap of 5 or 10 years. Returns are smoothed for stability. Capital protected at maturity. |
| Market linked | Lengo Digital Savings | Fully market linked, with no smoothing of returns. Minimum monthly premium of KES 3,000, or a single premium of KES 300,000. Flexible contributions and lump sum top ups. Terms of 5 to 10 years. |
| Market linked | Lengo Investment Plan | Built for savers targeting a specific goal, such as a house or travel. Affordable minimum premiums, with monthly, quarterly, semi annual or annual contribution options. |
| Market linked | Lengo Premier Plan | Aimed at high income earners and high net worth clients. Accepts large single or annual premium contributions. Focused on wealth accumulation and preservation. |
| Endowment | Asset Builder Endowment | Goal based savings for education or other targets. Guaranteed maturity benefit, revamped to raise customer returns. Suits savers who want to avoid market swings. Includes a death benefit during the policy term, with optional life cover and waiver of premium on death or disability. Minimum monthly premium of KES 3,000, or a single premium of KES 400,000. Terms of 5 to 15 years. |
| Pure risk | Greenlight | Covers death, disability, critical illness and physical impairment, as standalone benefits or combined. Minimum monthly premium of KES 1,000. Planned updates include retrenchment protection, flexible payment terms on whole of life cover, and reduced medical requirements to ease onboarding. |
| Pension | Deposit Administration | Minimum guaranteed annual return, currently 2 percent and under review to stay competitive, plus a capital guarantee. Set to add a dedicated post retirement medical fund, either as a secondary account or a standalone product. |
| Pension | Individual Pension Plan | Lets individuals save for retirement with tax advantages. Offers a choice between guaranteed and segregated funds. |
| Pension | Income Drawdown (planned) | Will give retirees flexible, regular income, control over retirement funds and a guaranteed minimum annual return. |
| Trust | Old Mutual Trust Fund (planned) | Combines administration by Old Mutual, an appointed auditor, a corporate trustee and a client appointed guardian or enforcer, to preserve and transfer wealth across generations. |
Where This Fits in Old Mutual’s Wider Strategy
The revamp sits inside a broader push by Old Mutual to support customers through different life stages rather than treat savings, protection and retirement as separate conversations. The Deposit Administration and Individual Pension products, along with the Income Drawdown facility and the Old Mutual Trust Fund, extend that same goal based approach into retirement and wealth transfer, filling out a shelf that already ran from short term digital savings through to high net worth investment plans.
For Kenyan households, the practical shift is straightforward. Old Mutual now designs its products around named goals, such as a child’s school fees or a retirement income target, rather than around policy categories, and it backs several of those products with longer terms and higher guaranteed returns than before.
