Amaco loses grip on matatu insurance market as Directline bounces back

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Amaco Insurance.[Courtesy]

Matatu owners are increasingly ditching African Merchant Assurance (Amaco), eroding the insurer's once dominant position in insuring Kenya's public service vehicles (PSVs).

Amaco, which is partly owned by President William Ruto's family, saw its market share in the PSV segment drop to 21 per cent from 44.61 per cent posted in December 2025, according to industry data by the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA). The firm had in recent years aggressively expanded its client-base in the PSV sector, controlling 54.71 per cent of the market in the quarter to March 2025.

Directline Assurance grew its market share to 62 per cent over the quarter to March this year, a jump from a share of 40.44 per cent in December 2025. Directline, suffering from shareholder wrangles, had seen its share of the PSV market drop to 35 per cent over the first quarter of 2025.