Health insurance in Kenya was launched by
the government in 1967 when they introduced National
Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) to provide health care to
Kenyans. Since then, the sector has grown widely due to
liberalization of the industry and increase in the medical
costs. In Kenya, the health care insurance is provided by
both government and private insurers.
This article aims to study the concept, benefits, and
the growth of the health insurance in Kenya. It also
highlights the health insurance plans available in the
country. The study is based on secondary data collected
from journals, articles, and Insurance Regulatory
Authority (IRA) website. To study the growth of the
health insurance in the country, premium, claims, and
expense of 22 insurance companies offering health
insurance from 2010 to 2018 were taken into
consideration. Microsoft Excel was utilized for the
analysis. The paper outlined the concept, health
insurance plans, and their importance to the insured.
The paper also revealed that the premium, claims, and
expenses of the insurance companies increased
constantly during the study period.
Keywords : Health Insurance, Premium, Claim, Policyholder, Sum Insured