HF Group and Britam launch medical cover with 75 age limit

HF Group through its subsidiary HF Insurance Agency (HFIA) in partnership with Britam has launched a retail medical cover with an age limit of 75 years.

The medical cover dubbed Afyamed is expected to open up health coverage to more Kenyans as current medical covers in the country have an age limit of 65 years. Britam will be the exclusive underwriter for the product.

HFIA Head of Business Development, Francis Kinyanjui, said Afyamed is designed to meet the needs of retail customers who have in the past experienced challenges in accessing medical insurance.

“Many families today lack access to quality healthcare as most health covers are designed to meet the needs of corporate customers. This cover which we have developed in partnership with Britam will open up health cover to among others young families, retirees, and also the self-employed,” said Kinyanjui.

Kinyanjui said Afyamed offers a wide scope of cover, including pre-existing, chronic conditions, HIV/AIDs and cancer. The cover also includes cost of organ transplant and related costs up to specified limits.

“Afyamed is a convenient solution for our customers as it has minimum exclusions and any member joining does not require a medial test before obtaining a medical cover,” said Kinyanjui.

Afyamed has a combined package that incorporates both Inpatient and Outpatient cover. HFIA customers will be able to access medical cover for as low as Ksh 20,000 annually. Afyamed has a minimum cover of Ksh 200,000 and a limit of Ksh 5 million for impatient cover.

HFIA is offering the cover within Kenya, South Sudan and Rwanda. The cover will also cater for treatment abroad in India or South Africa for treatment not available locally through a scheduled flight on reimbursement.

Members will also be able to obtain healthcare from private providers including Nairobi Hospital, Karen Hospital, Aga Khan Hospital, Nairobi Women Hospital, Gertrude Hospitals, Mater Hospitals and M.P. Shah Hospitals. The cover will be available through HFC 27 branches across the country.

Kinyanjui said the company is exploring the option of delivering the product through alternative distribution channels to reduce cost for customers.

According to FSD, every month about 20 percent of Kenya’s population or 9 million people, experience an illness. About 7.8 million of these individuals will seek care at one of over 10,000 facilities in Kenya. Ordinary Kenyans are vastly unprepared for medical emergencies that require large outlays. Hospital admissions are  today costly and can easily outstrip a family’s financial resources