INFLUENCE OF THE UNDERWRITING CAPACITY OF ALLIANCE PARTNERS ON PERFORMANCE OF INSURANCE FIRMS IN KENYA

Abstract

The increasing role of strategic alliances in the modern business landscape cannot be gainsaid. The objective of this paper was to determine the influence of underwriting capacity of alliance partners on the performance of insurance firms in Kenya. The study adopted a cross-sectional descriptive survey research design and the target population was 44 insurance firms. Purposive sampling technique was used to select four respondents from each insurance firm that is General Manager in charge of Technical Operations, Underwriting Manager, Claims Manager and Marketing Manager giving a sample size of 176 respondents. This study adopted self-designed questionnaires. Descriptive statistics conducted were frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviation while inferential statistics consisted of correlation and regression analysis. The findings indicated a strong positive significant linear relationship between underwriting capacity and performance of insurance firms. There is therefore need for a clearly defined strategic plan of action aimed at maximizing on mobilization of transaction volume, expeditious execution of claims settlement and work plans geared towards maximizing the insurer’s firm market share.