Unashig: Quantitative Update on "The Road to Enhanced Health Insurance"

[This Quantitative Update was first posted here on December 28, 2018 at 12:39 AM. See the Log of Subsequent Updates at the bottom of the page]


1) By mid-2017, 570 UoN academics under the umbrella of Unashig had filled forms signaling the wish (or intention) to participate in a group-funded Enhanced Health Insurance scheme to be brokered with NHIF. The number was subsequently sent to and used by NHIF to compute the average premiums and related benefits and limits applicable to sets of scenarios proposed by Unashig's Board of Directors. It was always understood by both parties, however, that the number actually paying for cover might be noticeably lower than 570. Gross membership size (or nominal roll) has gradually grown since, and now (February 19th 2019) stands at 655; but net membership is down to 548. This reduced number takes into account several deaths which have since occurred, exits from the group (for one reason or another, including the acquisition of broadly similar cover through the spouses' employers) and corrections for the initial double-counting of married couples who had separately applied to join. Out of the net membership of 548 there are 202 women, who represent 36.9% of the total. A total of 170 members have more recently declared a readiness to pay the annual premium as a lump sum. A lump sum requirement, as opposed to various installment payment options, was stated in writing by NHIF only several months ago. NHIF also insisted that members must pay their premiums through their organization -- Unashig. In our drive to launch the scheme as soon as we could, Unashig proceeded to set a new target of 400 (+/- 50) members for the first year of cover. However, concerned by the slow pace of premium subscriptions, and in response to calls by those who had already paid the premium into the Unashig holding account at the bank, the Unashig Board in January 2019 set a deadline of February 28th, 2019 for the payment of the required premium of KES 66,000 per family-size of M+3 or less -- and agreed on a minimum of 100 fully subscribed members for the purpose. The plan was to approach NHIF at the end of February with the much reduced number in order to get the insurance scheme finally started in March 2019. The driving idea was to negotiate the best possible package of benefits in the context of a significantly reduced number of fully paid up members.

2) Comparing actual registration-by-payment with the minimum target of 100, we note the following patterns and shortfalls since Unashig opened two bank accounts for the purpose in November 2018:
a) A total of 229 persons have to-date paid the required membership application fee, compared to 221 at the last reported count on February 6th 2019.
b) One hundred and two members have now paid the set annual premium either in full (95 Members) or in significant part (7 Members). This is a slow but significant increase over the 70 members who had either paid in full (58) or in part (12) as of February 6th, 2019.
c) One hundred and twenty one Members (121) have fully paid the insurance processing fee, compared with 84 on February 6th. It is to be presumed that most, if not all, intend to participate in the group cover by paying the full premium.
d) One hundred and twenty three (123) past and present UoN academics -- compared to 105 on February 6th -- have each bought the one Class A share permitted in Unashig's Memorandum of Association. We take this as an even more definitive affirmation of their intention to stay involved in Unashig's flagship initiative -- the Enhanced Health Insurance scheme -- which was set in motion in March 2017. Class A shares confer voting rights within Unashig.
e) One hundred and three (103) Full and Associate Members have now paid for a total of 259 Class B shares, compared to 82 shareholders who held 205 Class B shares on February 6th. That's more than twice the number of Class A shares so far bought. However, Class B shares average at only 2.52 per holder. While this apparent appetite for Class B shares suggests a robust alignment with Unashig's two-pronged Health+Wealth strategy, the numbers involved in the purchases do not yet constitute a critical mass of enthusiasm. This is particularly so given that the number of authorized Class B shares stands at 6,000. Much persuading remains to be done.
f) A total of KES 6,576,500/- has so far been raised as Enhanced Health Insurance premium from 95 Members (paying in full), 7 Members making significant part payments (ranging from KES 30,000 to KES 46,000/-), and a few others paying even less. This total is to be compared with a gross of KES 5,621,500/- collected as of February 6th, and 4,120,000/- as of January 4th.
g) Unashig's drive to own quoted shares traded on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) has so far (February 19th) built up a kitty valued at KES 765,000/-. As of February 6th, a total of KES 662,500/- (comprising KES 210,000/- and KES 452,500/-, respectively) had been raised from Class A and Class B share subscriptions). This compared favourably with a sum of KES 500,000/- which had been raised by December 28, 2018. We're working to push the total to KES 1,000,000/- as soon as we can. Our first investments, in Safaricom PLC and Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) shares, amounted to just under KES 330,000/-. We subsequently invested in six additional securities, namely: Equity Bank, Home Afrika, Kenya Reinsurance Corporation, Nation Media Group, Stanlib Fahari I-REIT, and Williamson Tea. The underlying goal is, inter alia, to rapidly grow Unashig's portfolio and in the process own a growing piece of Kenya's "growth engine". Another set of purchases is due in the coming days. There will be more Blue Chip and other investments as members continue to support the drive through Class A and B share purchases.




Update Log ~ This post was updated on: December 29, 2018: 12:25 AM, 12:39 AM; December 31: 11:40 PM; January 1, 2019: 7:59 PM; January 4: 10:20 AM, 2:53 PM, 11:55 PM; February 6: 11:06 PM; February 19: 12:32 AM.

A Season's Portrait

Cold winds with fury go.
Nafta one and weary sun(g).
Yond that self-same N. Gong.

Take no pris'ner. Sweep, all.
Most. All. Into. Ward. En. De.
Color red mashuka.

Embers into stars be. Be. Come.