The insurance industry closed the fourth quarter of 2025 with gross written premiums of UGX 2.02 trillion, representing a 14.8% growth from UGX 1.76 trillion in the same period of 2024.
While the headline numbers point to continued expansion, the underlying data reveals a market undergoing structural change.
The Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) industry performance data shows the market was powered by two nearly equal segments.
Non-life insurance generated slightly above UGX 1 trillion, accounting for 49.5% of total premiums, while life insurance produced UGX 978.5 billion, representing 48.3% of the market.
Smaller segments contributed the remainder. Health Maintenance Organisations (HMOs) generated UGX 30.1 billion, equivalent to 1.5% of premiums, while microinsurance contributed UGX 7.33 billion, roughly 0.4% of the market.
The industry total also includes UGX 7.12 billion in foreign reinsurance business ceded abroad. Excluding this component, the direct underwriting segments together generated roughly UGX 2.0175 trillion, equivalent to 14.6% year-on-year growth.
For reporting purposes, however, the official industry total remains UGX 2.0246 trillion.
A market gradually rebalancing
The figures point to an insurance market gradually rebalancing between life and non-life products.
Historically, Uganda’s insurance sector has been dominated by general insurance. By the fourth quarter of 2025, however, life insurance premiums nearly matched non-life premiums, signalling a gradual shift toward long-term protection and savings products.
Policy volumes reinforce this transformation. The industry wrote approximately 1.134 million policies during the quarter. Non-life insurance accounted for 461,885 policies, life insurance generated 178,194 policies, HMOs recorded 252 policies, and microinsurance issued 493,703 policies.
Although microinsurance generated only UGX 7.33 billion in premiums, the segment produced nearly half a million policies, highlighting its expanding reach among low-income households and its growing role in financial inclusion.
However, the small premium size means the segment has yet to materially influence total industry revenue.
Life insurance drives industry growth
The most notable trend during the quarter was the divergence in performance across segments. Non-life insurance expanded only marginally, HMOs contracted sharply, and microinsurance grew rapidly but from a very small base.
Life insurance, by contrast, surged 39.3%, rising to UGX 978.5 billion from UGX 702.3 billion a year earlier. This made life insurance the primary engine of industry growth.
At the same time, market power is becoming increasingly concentrated among a handful of insurers.
In the non-life segment, Sanlam Allianz and Old Mutual emerged as the dominant players.
Sanlam Allianz wrote UGX 209.47 billion in premiums, while Old Mutual followed closely with UGX 207.18 billion, giving the two companies a combined 41.6% share of the non-life market.
In life insurance, Jubilee Life and Prudential led the industry with UGX 253.83 billion and UGX 234.87 billion respectively.
Together they accounted for nearly half of the life insurance market.
Taken together, the data suggests an industry in transition. Non-life insurance remains the largest segment by a narrow margin, but life insurance is rapidly emerging as the sector’s most important growth driver.
Non-life insurance: stability at scale but slowing growth
Non-life insurance remained the largest contributor to total premiums, reaching slight above UGX 1 trillion in Q4 2025, compared with UGX 986.5 billion in the same period of 2024.
The increase of 1.5% represents essentially flat growth, particularly when compared with the rapid expansion seen in life insurance.
Market leadership was tightly contested between Sanlam Allianz and Old Mutual. Sanlam Allianz recorded UGX 209.47 billion in premiums, representing 20.9% of the segment, while Old Mutual generated UGX 207.18 billion, equivalent to 20.7% market share.
Below these two leaders sat a second tier of insurers. Britam reported UGX 85.10 billion, followed by ICEA Lion General with UGX 61.05 billion and Goldstar Insurance with UGX 53.19 billion.
The gap between the top two companies and the rest of the market was substantial, with each writing more than double the premium of the third-largest competitor.
A broad group of mid-sized insurers, including UAP Old Mutual General, CIC General, Liberty General, GA Insurance, Jubilee General and APA Insurance, collectively accounted for a significant share of the market.
These companies remain active across key classes such as motor insurance, personal accident coverage, medical insurance and SME risk portfolios.
Although Sanlam Allianz and Old Mutual generated similar total premiums, their business models differed significantly.
Sanlam Allianz built its portfolio on diversified commercial lines, including fire insurance, miscellaneous insurance and motor insurance, alongside smaller contributions from liability, engineering and marine insurance.
Old Mutual’s portfolio was more concentrated, with significant exposure to health and medical insurance and engineering risks, supplemented by fire, personal accident and motor insurance.
Its strength in medical and engineering insurance allowed the company to compete closely with Sanlam Allianz despite a narrower portfolio.
Across the segment as a whole, fire insurance generated UGX 199.05 billion, making it the largest class of business. Motor insurance produced UGX 166.30 billion, while health and medical insurance generated UGX 162.66 billion.
Stanbic, Absa and Centenary Control Nearly Half of Uganda’s Bancassurance Market as Premiums Top UGX 302 BillionEngineering risks, personal accident insurance and miscellaneous insurance also contributed significant premium volumes. Together, fire, motor and medical insurance accounted for more than half of all non-life premiums, reflecting the central role of property risk, mobility and healthcare costs in Uganda’s general insurance market.
Profitability pressures in non-life insurance
Despite the scale of premiums, profitability in the non-life segment appears under pressure.
The industry recorded net earned premiums of UGX 480.27 billion and net incurred claims of UGX 228.97 billion. Operating costs remained high, with management expenses of UGX 227.98 billion and commission expenses of UGX 146.59 billion.
The resulting loss ratio of 46.5% appears manageable on its own, but once operating and distribution costs are included, underwriting margins become significantly tighter.
Estimated underwriting performance suggests that several large insurers recorded deficits.
Sanlam Allianz appears to have posted an underwriting shortfall of roughly UGX 11.1 billion, while Old Mutual’s deficit may have reached UGX 22.3 billion.
Britam’s results suggest a deficit of about UGX 9.5 billion, while Goldstar recorded one of the highest loss ratios in the segment at 84.4%.
Smaller insurers such as Mirai General, which wrote only UGX 7.07 billion in premiums, appear to have maintained positive underwriting margins, illustrating how smaller portfolios can sometimes remain more disciplined.
Life insurance: The industry’s growth engine
While non-life insurance showed stability with tightening margins, life insurance delivered the strongest growth.
Gross written premiums in the segment rose to UGX 978.54 billion, up from UGX 702.25 billion in the same period of 2024. The 39.3% increase made life insurance the single largest contributor to industry growth.
Two companies dominated the segment. Jubilee Life recorded UGX 253.83 billion in premiums, equivalent to 25.9% of the market, while Prudential Uganda followed with UGX 234.87 billion, giving it 24 percent market share.
Other major players included ICEA Lion Life, Old Mutual Life, Liberty Life, and Sanlam Life, each maintaining sizeable portfolios.
Premiums in the life segment are heavily concentrated. The top three companies account for roughly 70% of life insurance premiums, reflecting the scale advantages required to build distribution networks for long-term insurance products.
Jubilee Life’s expansion was particularly dramatic. Its premiums surged 136%, rising from UGX 107.55 billion in Q4 2024 to UGX 253.83 billion in Q4 2025.
The company’s portfolio was led by health and medical insurance, which generated UGX 126.97 billion, followed by individual life insurance at UGX 108.07 billion. Additional contributions came from annuities, personal pensions, group life insurance and group credit insurance.
Prudential’s portfolio was more heavily focused on individual life policies, which generated UGX 165.28 billion, alongside UGX 60.16 billion in medical insurance and UGX 9.43 billion in group life insurance.
Across the segment, individual life insurance emerged as the largest class, generating UGX 457.37 billion, followed by health and medical insurance at UGX 267.31 billion.
Investment-linked products, group credit insurance, group life insurance and annuities contributed the remainder.
These trends suggest the life insurance market is increasingly driven by retail policies and health-related products, rather than traditional employer-based group coverage.
HMOs: A sharp contraction
The HMO segment contracted significantly during the quarter. Premiums declined from UGX 69.9 billion in Q4 2024 to UGX 30.06 billion in Q4 2025, representing a decline of nearly 57%.
Industry data indicates that Case Med Care accounted for the entire UGX 30.06 billion recorded during the quarter, while AAR’s UGX 47.03 billion reported in the previous year was absent from the 2025 figures.
The segment also recorded high claims levels, with net incurred claims of approximately UGX 23.37 billion, translating into a claims ratio of about 77.7 percent.
Part of the apparent contraction appears to reflect a structural shift in the market. Medical insurance underwriting is increasingly taking place within the broader non-life insurance segment, where health insurance alone generated UGX 162.66 billion in premiums during the quarter.
Microinsurance: Rapid growth from a small base
Microinsurance recorded one of the fastest growth rates in the industry. Premiums increased from UGX 1.64 billion to UGX 7.33 billion, representing growth of nearly 348$ year-on-year.
The segment was led by Turaco, which generated UGX 4.80 billion, followed by Padre Pio with UGX 1.62 billion, GMI with UGX 817.7 million, and Edge Microinsurance with UGX 100.6 million.
Turaco alone accounted for roughly 65% of premiums, while the two largest providers together controlled nearly 88% of the market.
Although the segment remains small in revenue terms, its 493,703 policies highlight its growing role in expanding insurance access among low-income households and informal-sector workers.
Reinsurance: Uganda Re maintains dominance
In the reinsurance market, Uganda Re maintained a commanding lead. The company recorded UGX 103.4 billion in premiums, significantly ahead of Kenya Re’s UGX 26.01 billion.
Together the two reinsurers generated UGX 129.41 billion, with Uganda Re accounting for roughly 80% of the total.
A sector in transition
Overall, Uganda’s insurance industry is becoming larger, more life-oriented and increasingly concentrated among a few dominant players.
While non-life insurance continues to anchor the sector’s traditional risk coverage, life insurance is rapidly emerging as the primary growth engine, reflecting rising demand for long-term financial protection and savings products in a gradually maturing market.
