Kenyan insurance firm, ICEA Lion (the Insurance Company of East Africa), launched a cancer insurance policy in October. They have been advertising in newspapers, TV with the promise of cover for just Kshs 165 ($1.$ per month). Yet there is a billboard, and their own FAQ’s, that state that the policy is NOT a medical insurance cover. So what is it?

Cancer impacts: Cancer is becoming more prevalent, affecting thousands of Kenyan every year and has been cited in the illness and death of many Kenyans. Today’s Nation newspaper has a report than one in five Kenyans will develop cancer in their lifetimes and that one out of every eleven deaths in the country is due to cancer.

Cancer afflicts all groups, and the working and the wealthy seem as afflicted as poorer Kenyans, who may not have any medical insurance. Treatment comes with hefty bills for scans, operations, radiation, chemotherapy and other treatments, whether in Kenya or overseas, especially in India. There are dozens of fund-raisers every month within families or online, or in church groups etc.

Features: The ICEA cover pays out a percentage of the sum insured when one is diagnosed with invasive cancer (which is spreading to other organs or healthy body cells) or a brain tumour.

ICEA pays the insured person, not the hospital so that they meet their medical or other ordinary living expenses for which cancer treatment would pose a burden. The policy offsets financial obligations arising from medical expenses and is targeted at heads of households. Recent surveys on financial inclusion found that 42% of Kenyans use their own savings to manage shocks and risks, such as medical treatment, and 28% use social networks.

The ICEA policy pays 10% upon diagnosis, 5% of the sum insured for each course of chemotherapy (for up to five instances or five years), 5% of the sum insured for each course of radiotherapy (for up to five instances or five years), and 20% of the sum insured for one surgical procedure in the first five years.

Another 10% is paid in case there is a relapse between years five and ten, and another 10% is paid if there is a remission after year ten. If someone requires palliative care (basically pain management with no more chance of recovery), 100% of the remaining insured sum is released.

For brain tumors, 10% is paid on diagnosis, and 40% of the insured sum can be used to pay for surgery.

Payment is made within two weeks (14 days) of a claim. Payments can be made to the policy owner, or their beneficiaries and is done regardless of other medical insurance in place.

Joining: No medical tests are required for sums up to Kshs 5,000,000 (~$49,250). The maximum age to join is 60 years and the cover expires when one turns 65 years. The policy runs for a minimum of 5 years.

Policy Costs: ICEA has a premium calculator on their website e.g. for a 25-year old to have the cover of Kshs 5 million, it will cost Kshs 1,174 per month or 14,000 per year. And for Kshs 10 million (~$98,500) of cover, that will be Kshs 2,349 per month or Kshs 28,187 ($277) per year. The cost increases as one gets older and if one is 45 years old, and with the looming cap of 65 years, to get Kshs 10 million cover will cost 18,310 per month or Kshs 219,722 ($2,164) per year. Also, payment is waived if someone is diagnosed with stage 4 cancer.

Exclusions:

• If one is diagnosed within three months of purchasing the cover.
• If one has signs of cancer within the 12 months before they purchased the policy or had been diagnosed earlier.
• No payments for surgery to diagnose cancer.
• Benign or malignant tumours (i.e. cancer which is not spreading )
• For some prostate tumors or some leukemia (blood cancer) types.
• If a woman had a mastectomy or lumpectomy within five years before the policy started.
• For any cancer caused by a pre-existing condition.

Medical Insurance in Kenya: Medical insurance is not a lucrative product. According to the Association of Kenya Insurers (AKI), eleven companies underwrote medical insurance of more than one billion shillings in the year, topped by Jubilee, followed by others such as AAR, Resolution, APA, CIC, and Madison. But the industry saw Kshs 56 billion of claims in 2018, that was led by medical insurance with claims of Kshs 20 billion ($197 million), followed by private motor and commercial motor with claims of about Kshs 14 billion each. Only seven out of twenty-three companies made an underwriting profit from medical insurance.

⁩Other firms with medical insurance that extends to some cover for cancer-related illnesses include UAP / Old Mutual, GA Insurance, and the National Hospital Insurance Fund under their “SUPA” cover.