Britam employees charged over Sh23 million attempted fraud

Two Britam employees have been arraigned in court for conspiring to defraud their employer of Sh23 million.

Elsie Wanjiku Njanji and Isabella Wanjiku Gitonga were accused of making false entries in what was aimed at disbursing a fictitious settlement claim, bringing to the fore the problem of internal fraud.

“On diverse dates between September 9, 2016 and January 23, 2018 at unknown place within the Republic of Kenya, jointly with others not before court conspired with intent to defraud Britam General Insurance Company Limited Sh23. 5 million by means of electronic manipulation in the system, made false entries to account namely Britam General Insurance disbursement account,” read part of the charge sheet.

The accused are said to have been nabbed by the insurance fraud investigation unit (IFIU).

Insurers have struggled with fraudulent claims, an issue that has seen claims payment delayed as companies run out of cash to pay policyholders.  

Claims under General Insurance grew 2.4 per cent to Sh56.1 billion in 2017 from Sh54.8 billion in 2016. On average, claims under general insurance which includes such insurance classes as motor vehicle, fire, medical, workmanship, personal accident has grown by an average of 13.5 per cent.

In 2017, general insurance made a loss of Sh1 billion, an improvement from a previous loss of Sh2.1 billion.