Cost of life insurance in Kenya

What sets the premium of a life policy

No regulator fixes life insurance prices in Kenya: each licensed life insurer prices its own policies and gives you a quote. The brochures and product pages insurers publish show which choices drive that quote:

• The sum assured — the lump sum paid on death. Britam's Tegemeo brochure offers from KES 3,000,000 to KES 100,000,000.
• The type of cover — term cover pays only if you die during the term; whole life cover lasts for life, so it pays whenever you die, as long as the policy is kept in force.
• The term, or the paying period — Tegemeo runs 5, 10, 15 or 20 years; Britam's and ICEA LION's whole life plans are paid over 10, 15 or 20 years, and Britam also accepts a single premium.
• Your age at entry — Tegemeo accepts applicants aged 18 to 65; other conditions are set by the insurer's underwriting guidelines.
• Your health, and whether you take a medical — see below: skipping the medical can delay the full cover.
• Optional covers (riders) — disability, critical illness and funeral expense benefits each add to the premium. Britam lists Tegemeo's optional covers from KES 50 a month.

The prices two insurers publish

These are each insurer's own statements, read in October 2026 — starting points, not a market average, a rating or a recommendation. The regulator's figures and complaints for each company are on the Britam profile and the ICEA LION profile.

Britam's Tegemeo brochure (July 2026) sets the sum assured at KES 3,000,000 to KES 10,000,000 without medical tests, and KES 5,000,000 to KES 100,000,000 with them. Its optional funeral expense cover ranges from KES 50,000 to KES 500,000, which Britam says it pays within 48 hours.

Britam's Whole Life press release (21 April 2026) says the benefit increases by 3% each year, and that disability, critical illness and funeral expense covers can be added, with a last expense benefit of up to KES 500,000. ICEA LION's Whole of Life page lets you pay monthly, quarterly, semi-annually or annually, and lists critical illness and permanent disability covers.

For a family that only needs funeral money, a last expense policy is a separate, smaller cover; the main policy types are compared in our life insurance guide.

Medical tests: what skipping them costs you

Each insurer sets a limit up to which you can buy cover without a medical exam — KES 10,000,000 on Tegemeo, KES 15 million on Britam's Whole Life, KES 5 million on ICEA LION's Whole of Life. Skipping the medical can change what you get:

• On Tegemeo without medical tests, you wait 12 months before the full sum assured applies. If death or disability happens in that period, Britam refunds the premiums paid, without interest — not the sum assured.
• With medical tests, Tegemeo pays the full sum assured on death at any time while the policy is in force, and Britam says the check-up by a doctor from its panel is at its cost.

Answer the health questions on the application form fully and truthfully, whichever route you take: the insurer prices the cover on what you declare.

Tax relief: what the premium really costs

Section 31 of the Income Tax Act gives a resident individual an insurance relief of 15% of the premiums paid on a qualifying life policy for themselves, their spouse or their child, capped at KES 60,000 a year for all policies together. It is taken off the tax you owe; employees get it through PAYE with the insurer's certificate.

Worked example on Tegemeo's starting price: KES 3,000 a month is KES 36,000 a year; 15% of that is KES 5,400 a year less income tax, if the policy qualifies and you pay enough tax to use it.

Who qualifies, the certificate your employer needs and how to claim are in our guide to insurance relief. Surrender the policy early and the relief already granted is recovered from the surrender value (section 31, proviso (vi)).

Before you sign: the traps that cost more than the premium

1. Compare like with like: the same sum assured, term, riders and medical route. A lower premium for a smaller cover is not a cheaper policy.
2. Check the grace period: Tegemeo gives 30 days from the due date; after that the policy lapses and no benefit is paid. Use direct debit or salary deduction if you can.
3. Know what you get back: on a term plan, nothing is paid if you outlive the term. Ask for the surrender value of a whole life plan in writing, year by year.
4. Check the insurer's licence on the list of long-term insurers in our life insurance guide, and keep the policy document where your beneficiaries can find it.
5. Ask for the quote in writing, with the sum assured, the term, each rider and its premium shown separately.

To get written quotes for the same cover from several licensed life insurers, ask for quotes.

Sources

1. Britam Life — Tegemeo Protection Plan brochure, July 2026: sums assured, terms, entry ages, medical option, grace period (insurer's own document, seen 22 October 2026)
2. Britam — Britam introduces Whole Life Insurance Plan (press release, 21 April 2026; insurer's own page, seen 22 October 2026)
3. ICEA LION — Whole of Life Plan product page (insurer's own page, seen 22 October 2026)
4. Income Tax Act, Cap. 470 — s.15(2)(ad) and (ae), s.31 (insurance relief) and Third Schedule, Head B (amount of the reliefs), as amended to 1 July 2026 — Kenya Law