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Africa’s major insurers have expanded into banking, savings and investments to reach more customers and deepen financial relationships.
The move comes as the continent remains one of the world’s least-insured regions.
Sanlam is the latest major insurer to enter banking.
The South African financial services group has received regulatory approval to offer transactional banking services through its partnership with GoTyme.
Beta testing is planned for the second half of 2026.
A phased public rollout will begin in the first quarter of 2027.
Sanlam Group CEO Paul Hanratty said the company remained confident about opportunities in Africa, its home market and India.
“We are investing heavily in our home market, across the continent and in India as we are confident about the opportunities all these markets represent,” Hanratty said.
Sanlam’s banking expansion comes as its wider financial services business continues to grow.
Comparable new business rose 22 percent to R224 billion ($13.79 billion) in the six months to June 30, 2026.
Net client cash flows also increased 64 percent to R78 billion ($4.8 billion).
Investment management volumes grew 29 per cent, while life insurance new business rose 14 per cent.
Sanlam said it would continue investing in high-growth markets and digital platforms.
The banking strategy also gives insurers more regular contact with customers.
Insurance is often purchased less frequently.
However, banking, payments and savings create daily or regular interactions.
This allows insurers to connect customers to other products, including investments, wealth management and insurance.
Africa’s large insurance gap makes the strategy attractive.
The continent generated $73.6 billion in insurance premiums in 2024.
However, insurance penetration stood at only 2.8 per cent, compared with 6.5 percent globally, according to the African Insurance Organisation.
Southern Africa accounted for 72.3 percent of the continent’s premiums.
Meanwhile, insurance penetration stood at 1.3 per cent in East Africa, 1.1 per cent in North Africa and 0.7 per cent in both West and Central Africa.
Insurance density also remains low.
According to the AIO, Africa generated only $55.40 in premiums per person in 2024, compared with $887 globally.
Old Mutual is already testing the banking model.
The insurer launched OM Bank in 2025 after investing more than R4 billion ($246 million) to establish the business alongside its insurance, investment and wealth operations.
It has committed another R2 billion ($123 million) to the rollout during 2026 and 2027.
Old Mutual is targeting monthly break-even by 2028.
OM Bank’s customer base grew from 284,000 at the end of 2025 to 742,000 by June 2026.
Retail deposits also rose from R272 million to R1.38 billion ($16.7 million to $85 million).
By August 31, deposits had reached R1.6 billion ($98.5 million).
Old Mutual expects the customer base to exceed one million by the end of September.
However, the expansion comes at a high cost.
OM Bank recorded an operating loss of R764 million ($47 million) in the first half of 2026.
That was 32 percent higher than the previous year.
OM Bank chief product and innovation officer Ethel Nyembe said the business wanted to offer customers a wider range of financial services.
“We are a bank that, in its infancy, wants to be end-to-end,” Nyembe told Moneyweb in June.
She said the bank wanted to “embed” itself in customers’ financial needs and habits rather than solve those needs “product per product”.
Prudential is also expanding its reach without owning a bank.
The insurer operates in five African markets covering about 400 million people.
Its annual premium equivalent sales across those markets rose 24 percent in 2025.
Its bancassurance business works through more than 25 bank partnerships, giving Prudential access to more than 950 branches.
Bancassurance APE grew 34 percent in 2025, while agency APE increased 30 per cent.
Britam is pursuing a similar expansion in East Africa.
The Kenyan insurer is targeting the acquisition of a financial services company in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) by the end of 2026, subject to regulatory and shareholder approval.
The planned entry would begin with life and general insurance, then expand into asset management.
Britam first announced its interest in the DRC market in 2024.
“Entry into DRC is one of the activities that the Board has taken quite seriously. We are looking at the market and have already identified some opportunities,” Group Managing Director and CEO Tom Gitogo said in 2024.
Britam has also expanded its financial services in Kenya.
In June 2026, it launched Britam Trust Services, offering cash and family trust solutions covering property, investments, businesses and cash.
The company said the service would support customers through wealth creation, accumulation, preservation and transfer.
“Our role is to help our customers protect what they have worked hard to build, preserve it with intention, and pass it on with clarity and purpose,” Gitogo said.
The growing range of products shows how insurers are moving deeper into customers’ financial lives.
Customers can start with insurance, then move into savings, investments, wealth management and estate planning.
Meanwhile, partnerships and consolidation are also reshaping Africa’s insurance industry.
Sanlam and Allianz have built SanlamAllianz into a major pan-African insurance platform, with Allianz holding a 49 percent stake.
Sanlam said it completed regulatory integration of its Moroccan businesses in July 2026.
The joint venture also declared its first dividend three years after its creation.
Credit: Bonface Orucho by Bird Story Agency.
