One of the insurance companies most used by Italian residents and holidaymakers in Kenya has been put into liquidation and is in fact no longer operational, and the licences it took out have to be checked and remade with other companies, pending reimbursement.
This is the insurance company INVESCO, which was based in Nairobi on Valley Road and whose office in Malindi was at the Stanbic Arcade (opposite the post office).
The Insurance Regulatory Authority of the Kenyan State (IRA) placed Invesco Assurance Company Limited in ‘statutory administration’ as of 14 August last, due to its failure to meet its financial obligations.
After appointing a compensation fund as its legal manager, the agency was prohibited from writing new insurance contracts.
‘The insurer's existing policyholders are urged to immediately seek alternative cover from other licensed insurers to ensure that there is no unnecessary exposure,’ it was stated in a statement, while the PCP fund will handle compensation for the injured, as required by the National Insurance Act.
Invesco had been under the regulator's radar for some time and at one point was put into liquidation, having also been fined in the past for breaching operational terms. In December last year it went to the High Court after the IRA prevented it from issuing new policies.
It is not the first insurance company to close its doors in the past two years: last month marked the end of one of the country's historic companies, Blue Shield, while last June Directline Assurance voluntarily closed its doors. The insurance company, part of the Royal Credit group, held the majority of policies in the matatu sector.
Nine months ago, a worse fate had befallen the agency Xplico Insurance, which went bankrupt after failing to make repayments and being accused of not complying with insurance industry rules. In 2022, Resolution Insurance had disappeared.