Response strategies to the competitive environment by British American insurance company Kenya limited

Abstract

The Kenyan Insurance industry has been a one of the key drivers of the Kenyan economy for a while now. The industry has been undergoing change every now and then and there has been no guarantee that any company will succeed financially faced with the changes that occur. That said, there is a lot of competition amongst industry players and the dynamic business environment means that for a company to do well financially, they have to outdo their rivals. What are some of the actions that companies take to counter competition? The study looks at how the concept of strategic response has been applied by British American Insurance Company Kenya limited as a way of dealing with the dynamic competitive environment in the insurance industry and how well the strategic responses have worked for them. Data was collected by way of interviewing managers whose responsibilities are strategy formulation, business development, sales of insurance products and innovations. Secondary data was also collected by reading through the company‟s initial public offering prospectus, financial annual reports, and various articles in the internet as well as information written in the newspapers. From both primary and secondary data collected, it was quite clear that British American Insurance Company Kenya limited has put into use a number of response strategies to counter competition in the industry and to help their business thrive. Among response strategies put into place were, diversification, positioning the company, strengthening of core competencies among others. These response strategies are among other findings that the researcher found out to have been utilized by British American Insurance Company Kenya limited. The response strategies to competition have worked well for British American Kenya limited as the study shows and it‟s recommended that they continue being utilized albeit they continue changing with what time dictates. It was also the researcher‟s recommendation that more employees be involved in strategy formulation and implementation to enable them feel as part of the process and have their input valued.