Top 5 most expensive items to insure in Uganda

• April 11, 2021
• LUTAKOME
• 1 comment

When we talk about expensive insurance policies, your mind should not immediately run to celebrities and millionaires who spend millions insuring what matters a lot to them especially body parts that make them standout.
In this article, I share the five most expensive items to purchase insurance coverage for in Uganda, and you are about to discover, these are commonly used items and are part of our everyday lives.

#5 Health

Medical insurance is arguably the most appreciated class of insurance in Uganda because much as insurance is an intangible purchase, medical insurance brings out the tangible aspects of insurance in a more practical way.
So many people consider medical insurance expensive, and yes, it is not cheap but what price can you put on staying alive? On average decent medical insurance package would begin at about 750,000 per year for a 10 million hospital benefit, but its advisable that you double this to secure more comprehensive coverage of at least 100 million to cater for crucial procedures like Air Evacuation, Overseas Surgery, etc which given the state of our health facilities in Uganda can be the thin line between life and death.
# 4 Smartphone

Having a SMART phone is one of those ungazetted human necessities and for most of us SMART phones are undisputed companions that we cannot leave behind on any day if our lives are meant to go on normally. This emotional attachment means that insuring our SMART phone is a top priority because in case its damaged or stolen it needs to be replaced within the shortest time possible with a similar model. If you have just bought the latest iPhone 12 or Galaxy S20 at approximately 4.5 million, you will have to budget an extra 250k to have it fully insured
# 3 Wedding/Engagement Ring

A wedding/engagement ring is a status symbol for most people, and one might wonder whether its insurable, well the answer is YES, anything that can be stolen or damaged and is going to cost a fortune to replace is insurable and any of these can happen to your engagement/wedding ring so don’t leave it out of those items to insure. Just like other items, the insurance coverage is based on the value of the ring and for a 5 million ring for example would cost you about 200k per year to insure. Please bear in mind that to insure your ring, you will need to have a jewelry certificate of authenticity

# 2 Commercial Cars

Owning a car in Uganda is not a cheap, the hurdle begins with heavy taxation on importation, the high cost of fuel, plus the cost of replacing frequently stolen spare parts, this makes it extremely important to have the vehicle comprehensively insured. The cost of comprehensive insurance, however, is quite expensive for some categories of vehicles, if your vehicle is used for own personal errands, no need to worry, however, if you own a fleet of vehicles that are used to generate income from the transportation business, it’s quite expensive to insure these due to the risky nature of work undertaken, most of you are familiar with stories of tragic bus accidents or burnt fuel tankers. The cost of ensuring a fleet can be so expensive that the annual insurance cost for a fleet of ten can purchase another similar vehicle.
Did you know that two thirds of the cost of third-party Insurance goes into taxation?
# 1 Motorcyles

If you own a motorcycle, irrespective of value, it’s the most expensive item to comprehensively insure in Uganda, the cost is quite expensive that the annual cost of ensuring a fleet of less than seven motorcycles can buy one. Motorcycles in Uganda are associated with high risk of theft and most of them are uninsured making it extremely risky for the insurers underwriting this class of insurance.

In conclusion, this information is not not intended to scare you from insuring any of the above items, you might be surprised to note that one of the main reasons these items are expensive to insure is because the high possibility of a claim once they are insured and hence insurance coverage for any of them is a must.