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NEWS & CURRENT AFFAIRS

The Nairobian

Long-serving IRA boss Sammy Makove calls it a day

News

By Lee Mwiti | Nov 16, 2016

Insurance Regulatory Authority chief executive Sammy Makove makes a speech as Phoenix chairman Dominique Galea looks on during the unveiling of the new avenue of communication with their customers and shareholders through Phoenix Assurance website launch cocktail at Serena hotel on 17th March 2016 PHOTO: FILE

Sammy Makove, the man who has become synonymous with the insurance industry as head of the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA), has finally quit.

Mr Makove was a founder member of IRA and has been the regulator's only chief executive officer since its formation eight years ago.

IRA was formed as an independent body away from the controlling tentacles of the Treasury to regulate the insurance industry.

Before forming IRA, he served at the Finance ministry as a Deputy Commissioner of Insurance from 1987 before becoming a full Commissioner of Insurance in 2002, a position he would later leave to assume his powerful role at IRA.

Yesterday, the regulator announced Mr Makove would be retiring from his position before the expiry of his contract.

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"Mr Sammy Makove will be proceeding on terminal leave pending the expiry of his contract beginning today," a statement from IRA read.

"Makove was the first CEO of IRA and has served two terms, each consisting of four years. Prior to the establishment of IRA, Makove was the Commissioner of Insurance at the then Department of Insurance in the Ministry of Finance."

IRA Board Chairman Abdirahim Abdi announced the appointment of Godfrey Kiptum as the new CEO in acting capacity.

Mr Kiptum was the IRA's Chief Manager for Human Capital Development and Administration prior to his appointment.

In 2010, Makove faced a storm after his contract was controversially renewed, with insiders in the insurance sector calling for a change of guard, saying the man who has been the face of the insurance industry since 1987 had nothing new to offer.

A number of insurance companies at the time expressed their disquiet, insisting they wanted to see a more proactive approach in the regulation of the industry and that Makove was not ready for that.

The IRA boss exits the stage at a time when statistics from the Association of Kenyan Insurers (AKI) insurance show penetration in the country is at its lowest, having gone down from 2.93 per cent in 2014 to 2.79 per cent last year.

According to the same body, the industry recorded a drastic dip in growth at 9.8 per cent last year, compared to 20.3 per cent in 2014.