Nearly 11 years after Barclays Africa bought control of First Assurance, its brand successor Absa Group is selling its 63.32% interests in First Assurance Company and Absa Life Assurance Kenya as part of a wider retreat from direct insurance underwriting.
- •The buyer, First Assurance Investments Limited (FAI), is a long-standing shareholder in First Assurance, with whom Absa Bank Kenya will retain its insurance distribution arrangements.
- •Absa said on Thursday it had signed a sale and purchase agreement with FAI for the stakes, subject to regulatory approvals and other conditions, but did not disclose the transaction value and expected completion date.
- •The insurer’s 2019 accounts showed FAI holding 16.98%, alongside First Assurance Holdings Limited at 63.32% and Syndicate Nominees Limited at 12.35%.
The transaction unwinds an investment dating to 2015, when Barclays Africa Group acquired a 63.32% controlling stake in First Assurance. The investment was valued at about KSh 2.9 billion, including approximately KSh 2.2 billion paid to shareholders and a KSh 700 million capital injection.
The businesses being sold have meaningful positions in Kenya’s insurance industry. Insurance Regulatory Authority data showed Absa Life generated KSh 2.97 billion in gross premium income in the first quarter of 2025, equivalent to 5.56% of Kenya’s long-term insurance market. Its share of group-life premiums stood at 19.51%.
The disposal ends Absa’s direct ownership of insurance manufacturing businesses in Kenya but not its participation in the insurance market. Existing distribution arrangements with Absa Bank Kenya will continue, allowing the lender to retain its bancassurance channel without owning the underwriters. Absa said existing customer products and services would not be affected.
First Assurance traces its history to 1930 and historically operated both general and long-term insurance businesses. In 2019, regulators approved the transfer of its long-term insurance portfolio to Barclays Life Assurance Kenya, separating the life business from First Assurance’s general insurance operations. Barclays Life, launched in Kenya in 2015, subsequently became Absa Life Assurance Kenya following the group’s rebranding.
Absa had also previously recognised weaker returns from its First Assurance investment, recording a KSh 219.5 million impairment of acquisition-related goodwill in 2022.
The Kenya disposal forms part of a wider restructuring of Absa’s insurance portfolio. The group sold insurance manufacturing businesses in Botswana, Mozambique and Zambia in 2025, shifting away from directly owning underwriters in several African markets.
