Kenya’s Insurance Professionals Act Comes Into Force, Reshaping Industry Regulation

Kenya has formally brought into effect the Insurance Professionals Act, 2025, introducing a new regulatory framework for the insurance sector that tightly formalises licensing, training, examinations and professional discipline.

The new law establishes two key institutions — the Insurance Institute of Kenya and the Insurance Professionals Examinations Board — mandated to set syllabuses, conduct professional exams, register practitioners and issue annual practising certificates. The Act also clearly defines membership categories, prescribes professional qualifications and creates a Registration Committee with powers to license practitioners, maintain a public register and enforce a code of conduct.

To strengthen accountability, the Act sets up a Disciplinary Committee with authority to investigate misconduct and impose sanctions ranging from reprimand to suspension or cancellation of registration. The law broadens the scope of misconduct to include mis-selling, conflicts of interest, corruption, data misuse and discrimination. It further criminalises the use of protected professional titles without authorisation.

Under the transitional provisions, all practising insurance professionals are required to obtain a valid practising certificate within 12 months of the Act’s commencement or risk operating illegally.

Operationally, both the Institute and the Examinations Board will function as corporate bodies with powers to raise funds, partner with training institutions and recognise both local and international qualifications. The framework is designed to enhance service quality, transparency and consumer protection while providing a single professional standards backbone for underwriting, distribution, claims handling and risk management across the insurance industry.

The Act marks a major shift toward the full professionalisation of Kenya’s insurance sector, aligning market practice with stricter ethics, competence and regulatory oversight.