Briefing Paper
The Insurance Meet & Greet – 2nd Edition (#IMNG 2.0)
“IS THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY READY FOR GENERATION Z?
IS GENERATION Z READY FOR THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY?”

OBJECTIVES

I. Acquire insights from Generation Z necessary for decision-making and policy
reviews in the insurance industry.
II. Offer observations about the awareness of Generation Z in regards to insurance
industry.
III. Stimulate further understanding of the insurance industry to the Generation Z and
general public.
IV. Promote insurance penetration through consumer-based content and brand
positioning.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

 Two thirds of insurance stakeholders believe that the industry is not ready for the
Generation Z
 In order to make significant gain, the insurance industry has to actively and
intentionally take steps to seek Generation Z
 The work culture and technological innovation in the insurance sector is playing
catch-up to the Gen Z
 The key to tapping into the Gen Z, both as a market and resource pool for the
insurance industry lies in understanding their attributes.

CONTEXTUAL BACKGROUND

Picture this. In the next five years, your work colleague or next client will likely be more
opinionated and have a more realistic outlook of life than you! That is Generation Z for you!
Being one of the fastest growing generations in terms of population and influence, Generation
Z is fast becoming a driving force for global economy and culture. Generalized as a multitude
of individuals born between 1997 and 2012, the ‘Generation Z’ or popularly the ‘Gen Z’
comprises 23.64 % of the total world population of 7.87 billion people, making it the most
populous generation. In Africa, Generation Z makes up 31.20% translating to 428 million of
the total 1.3 billion. In Kenya, Gen Z is the most populous generation with 18 million of the
country’s 54 million. (Association of Kenya Insurers (AKI), 2021)
Born in the data and technology-oriented era littered with shifting financial landscapes
(2007/8 global recession), COVID-19 and climate anxiety, the Gen Z’s formative
experiences have shaped their identity to become technologically savvy and embrace social
media connectivity. They thrive in the digital space and like consuming snippets of
information in social media and video content sites. The Gen Z are pragmatic with
complicated idealism and worry more about the future, probably due to growing up at a time
of radical uncertainties. As a result, they are politically active global citizens with strong
values on sustainability, diversity and inclusivity. They are also well educated and good

researchers with access to wide information. Their consumption and spending habits are
fueled by influencers (online) and peer pressure. Gen Zs have a strong sense of personal
expression which affects how they view ownership and access to products and services.
(Wikipedia, 2023)
The Gen Z are at a unique point to tap into today’s greatest challenges and opportunities of
the digital age and shifting global economy. This can only be achieved by long term planning
and being realistic about the future. Billions of these young people are exploring the scope
of their lives, getting ready for the job market and consuming products and services as their
financial freedom rises. The Gen Z provide a large market opportunity for the insurance
industry to tailor policies, products and services that meet the unique needs of this growing
demographic in the country. Literally, the Gen Z will drive the growth of the insurance
industry in terms of providing market for insurance policies as well as provide the pool of
employees for the sector within the few coming years. Ease of communication through digital
is vital in this realization.
It is out of this awareness that BIMA TV Kenya Ltd, an online-based platform geared to bring
insurance information and products closer to the people, organized the second edition of the
Insurance Meet and Greet (IMNG) event. Besides advocating insurance penetration, brand
promotion, facilitating networking between insurance stakeholders and the public, the
highlight activity which was the insurance debate structured as a panel discussion on the
strategic topic: Is the Insurance Industry ready for the Generation Z? The engaging debate
brought forth nuggets of wisdom and insight for the insurance industry to reimagine its
business model strategies to meet the evolving needs of this new generation, which is rapidly
growing in influence and economic power and which ultimately will be the working force
and consumer market for the insurance industry.

DEBATE HIGHLIGHTS
The debate whether the insurance industry is ready or not for the Generation Z is an important
discussion for both parties. For insurance stakeholders, their success is pillared by their
ability to attract new clientele upon whom they can provide insurance coverage. It is
estimated that in the next five years, the Generation Z will comprise about a third of the total
consumers of general products and services. This means that as the Gen Zs gain more
influence and grow their incomes, their purchasing power will be diverse just as their interests
and opinions. Inevitably, the Gen Z will become major consumers of the insurance industry
policies.
A standard opinion poll put up for the audience found out that 76% affirmed that the
insurance sector was not ready for Gen Z while 24% agreed that the industry was ready for
them.
It was noted by that the insurance industry is ‘almost ready’ for the Gen Z and conversations
around the topic would crystalize these chances. By and large, many stakeholders feel that
the industry is getting ready because they are starting to embrace and generate socially
responsible products and inclusive products which the Gen Zs feel obligated to interact with,
ideally since Gen Zs connect and mobilize for social causes. The Gen Zs are quite interested
in inclusive and supportive communities as well as corporate responsibility, which means
they are attracted to products and services geared towards sustainability of resources, ethics
and responsibility. Some felt that insurance products with themes of sustainability and social
responsibility are less but are increasing with time.
The industry is also playing catch-up to the Gen Zs in terms of using influencers to sell
insurance products, especially since the Gen Zs prioritize visual engagements to consume
products and services through social media.
The Gen Zs are quickly getting into the workforce and the insurance industry is one of the
sectors to absorb them which means it has to be accommodative enough or lose out on tapping

their skills. For a generation that is tech savvy, research-detailed and data-focused, the Gen
Z have potential to make a significant impact in the insurance industry in terms of product
innovation and marketing. Being unconventional in regard to how they approach work means
they favor remote work, virtual meetings, unfixed working hours and the gig economy that
was ingrained by the COVID-19 pandemic. To attract and retain this generation in the
insurance industry, it emerged that the industry ought to be more flexible to create a work
environment that embraces innovative technology and a more relaxed culture in regard to
attire and remote work. Secondly, the Gen Zs prioritized work setups that had innovation
hubs and product development committees where they can get to be expressive and creative
through generating their ideas. The fact that they are a well-educated generation with access
to a large pool of information means they can innovate efficient insurance products that
respond to the dynamic consumer demands.
Importantly, it was noted that the insurance industry needs to be proactive in student career
fairs for better visibility and demystifying ‘insurance sector’ at the earliest possible chance.
More involvement by the insurance industry in career fairs increases the chances of Gen Zs
choosing careers in the sector.
Possessing diverse outlooks and data-orientated, the Gen Z can offer value to the insurance
sector, if only they feel more accepted in the sector’s work culture. Their knowledge can be
put to use to help anticipate and understand new risks like cyber security risks and climate
change. They are comfortable with technology that prioritizes socialization and teamwork,
and thus insurance companies should create subcultures of collaboration to ensure the Gen
Zs feel they fit in.
It was acknowledged that the insurance industry like other sectors embraces change over a
period of time. Being a broad sector with stakeholders like reinsurers, underwriters,
marketing agents, valuers, investigators and loss adjusters, it might take time to oversee
sweeping changes to the Gen Zs’ benefit. Technology is an ever-changing enabler of
production and that means it is mostly embraced but tweaking work cultures like fixed hours
and dress code take time to be accepted. Therefore, the Gen Zs were cautioned to be more
open-minded, to learn cautiously and to select the most fitting work niche in the vast
insurance industry depending on one’s preferences.

CONCLUSION

For the insurance industry to tap into the great opportunities offered by this generation, it
needs to take bold, active steps to seek and attract the Gen Z. Key to this lies in understanding
their attributes and imagined identity so as to leverage the insurance industry’s products and
services innovation, often leaning back to accommodate their opinionated nature.
Being a pragmatic people in an era of uncertainties, the Gen Zs worry about their future more
than the previous generations. They are acutely aware that accidents and bad luck give no
discount and these unwanted events are not exempt from anyone regardless of the age or
understanding of the world. For the insurance industry, this presents a tremendous
opportunity to innovate products and policies that arrest this generation’s worries and fears.
The key to this will be comprehending the generation’s attributes in order to maximize their
skills and affinity to the industry.

RECOMMENDATIONS

 There is need to follow up research to stimulate a broader dialogue about the Gen Zs
expected impact in the insurance industry from a consumer perspective. Their
interests and opinions shape their preferences in terms of consumption of products
and services. There is urgent need for more focused research in this area so as to
produce authentic insurance content that speaks to the Gen Zs hearts and minds.
 The insurance industry will need to take proactive steps to get closer to Gen Z so as
to attract them to their products as well as resourcing personnel for the industry. It is
imperative that the insurance industry create visibility for itself among this
generation, whether in social media circles or in academia through career fairs.
Demystifying the insurance industry will be key to winning new hearts and minds.
 In regards to the work culture of the insurance industry, it is fairly satisfactory in
terms of technologically updating its systems and processes of working. While dress
codes and hierarchical bureaucracies in the work place might lag behind, the
technology and product innovation structures are accommodative enough for the Gen
Z to encourage their growth in the industry. However, there is dire need for
mentorship programs to manage their expectations as well as aligning them to the
sensitive nature of insurance law & professionalism.
 The insurance industry needs to ‘update’ and redefine its products and policies to
better fit into the needs of the Gen Zs. For most Gen Zs, non-basic luxuries like fancy
cars and access to quality network coverage may constitute their basic needs which
means they might prioritize safety of loss of data from cyber-crime than medical
covers. Therefore, the industry has to invest in finding the perfect matches for
products and services that affect their objective conditions.

Prepared by;
Bima TV KE LTD