What is the difference between Fire & Perils and IAR?

Fire & Perils is a 'named perils' policy. It covers a defined list. IAR is an 'all risks' policy. It covers everything that isn't specifically excluded. IAR is broader but pricier and typically reserved for larger businesses.

What does 'forcible and violent entry' mean exactly?

There must be physical evidence of force used to gain entry (broken door, cut grille, smashed window) or exit. Walking in through an unlocked door does not qualify, and neither does an employee removing stock from an open warehouse.

Is WIBA mandatory even for one employee?

Yes. The Act applies to any employer regardless of the number of employees. Households employing one domestic worker are legally required to have cover. Enforcement has tightened materially in recent years.

Is WIBA mandatory in Kenya?

Yes. The Work Injury Benefits Act, 2007 makes WIBA cover compulsory for every employer in Kenya, with no exemption for the number of employees. A household employing a single domestic worker is as legally bound as a large company. DOSH enforces compliance and can stop work and prosecute employers without cover.

What is the difference between claims-made and occurrence-basis PI?

Claims-made (the Kenyan standard) responds to claims made and reported during the policy period. Regardless of when the work was done. Occurrence responds to incidents that occurred during the policy period. The retroactive date on a claims-made policy is critical: if it is wrong, historical work is uninsured.

Is Public Liability legally required in Kenya?

Not generally, but it is contractually required for many activities: government tenders, commercial tenancies, event permits, and most B2B contracts. Without it, you cannot bid for many opportunities and you carry personal exposure.

Business Insurance Kenya | Commercial Cover | Vike Insurance Brokers

What We Cover

14 types of business & commercial insurance cover. Each one has its own page with the full policy detail, pricing and claims process.

Fire & Perils (IAR) Insurance
Covers buildings, stock, plant, and equipment against fire, lightning, explosion, flood, and a defined list of named perils.
What it covers
- Buildings: structure, fixtures, fittings, and improvements
- Stock: raw materials, work-in-progress, finished goods
- Plant and machinery on a reinstatement basis
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Fire and Perils: often written as an Industrial All Risks (IAR) section: is the foundational property cover for any Kenyan business with physical assets. It pays to rebuild your premises, replace your stock, and reinstate your plant and machinery if any of a named list of perils occurs: fire, lightning, explosion, riot and strike, malicious damage, storm, flood, earthquake, impact, and aircraft damage.
Also covers
Furniture, fittings, and office equipment
Loss of rent following an insured peril (extension)
Who it's for
Manufacturers, factories, and industrial operators
Retailers, wholesalers, and warehousing businesses
Hotels, restaurants, schools, and hospitals
Burglary Insurance
Protects your business premises and contents against theft involving forcible and violent entry or exit.
What it covers
- Theft of stock and finished goods (subject to forcible-entry wording)
- Theft of equipment, fittings, and furniture
- Damage to premises caused by forced entry (broken doors, locks, windows)
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Burglary insurance covers loss of business contents: stock, equipment, fittings, and cash up to a small limit, following theft that involves forcible and violent entry to or exit from the insured premises. The 'forcible and violent' wording is important: most Kenyan burglary policies do not cover stock that simply disappears or is taken by employees (that is fidelity guarantee territory).
Also covers
Money on premises up to a small sub-limit (usually KES 50K–200K)
Theft following non-forcible entry from an authorised visitor (limited extension)
Who it's for
Retailers, supermarkets, and electronics shops
Warehouses and bonded stores
Pharmacies, salons, restaurants, and bars
WIBA / Employers' Liability Insurance
Legally required cover under the Work Injury Benefits Act for employee injury, disease, or death arising in the course of employment.
What it covers
- Medical expenses for treatment of work-related injuries and diseases
- Temporary total disability benefits: wage replacement while recovering
- Permanent disability lump sums calibrated to earnings and the WIBA scale
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The Work Injury Benefits Act (WIBA), 2007, makes it compulsory for every Kenyan employer to insure against their employees' work-related injury, disease, or death. The benefits are scheduled in law: funeral expenses, lump sums for permanent disability calibrated to earnings, medical costs, and the employer is strictly liable regardless of fault. Without WIBA in force, the employer is personally liable, and DOSHS (Directorate of Occupational Safety and Health Services) can stop work and prosecute.
Also covers
Funeral expenses on work-related death
Compensation to dependants on work-related death
Who it's for
Every Kenyan employer: legally required, no exceptions
Manufacturers, factories, construction sites, and farms (high-risk)
Offices, schools, NGOs, and professional services (lower-risk but still required)
WIBA Insurance: Work Injury Benefits Act Compliance
The legally mandatory employer cover in Kenya. Every business with staff must insure work-related injury, disease, and death under the Work Injury Benefits Act. Premium quoted individually against your payroll.
What it covers
- Medical expenses for treating work-related injuries and occupational diseases
- Temporary total / partial disability: wage replacement while the employee recovers
- Permanent disability lump sums, calculated on earnings and the WIBA disability scale
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The Work Injury Benefits Act (WIBA), 2007 makes it compulsory for every employer in Kenya to insure their employees against work-related injury, occupational disease, and death. There is no exemption for size: a household with a single domestic worker, an SME with ten staff, and an industrial group with thousands all carry the same legal obligation. The employer is strictly liable for the scheduled benefits regardless of fault, and the Directorate of Occupational Safety and Health Services (DOSH) can issue a prohibition (stop-work) notice and prosecute an employer found operating without cover.
Also covers
Death benefit and funeral expenses where a work accident is fatal
Compensation to the dependants of an employee who dies from a work cause
Who it's for
Every employer in Kenya: the Act applies from the very first employee
Households employing domestic workers, gardeners, nannies, or guards
SMEs, retailers, restaurants, salons, and professional offices
Professional Indemnity Insurance
Protects professionals against third-party claims of negligence, errors, omissions, or breach of professional duty in their work.
What it covers
- Legal defence costs in respect of allegations of professional negligence
- Damages awarded against the professional, up to the policy limit
- Breach of professional duty, errors, and omissions
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Professional Indemnity (PI) insurance pays for the legal defence costs and any damages awarded against a professional accused of providing negligent advice, work, or services that caused a client financial loss. In Kenya, several professional bodies, including the Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council, LSK, IEK, ICPAK, and ARC-Kenya. Require members to hold PI cover as a condition of practice.
Also covers
Loss of documents or client data (subject to extension)
Libel and slander arising from professional advice (limited extension)
Who it's for
Doctors, dentists, surgeons, and other medical practitioners
Lawyers, advocates, and law firms
Engineers, architects, quantity surveyors, and project managers
Public Liability Insurance
Covers your legal liability to third parties for bodily injury or property damage arising from your business operations.
What it covers
- Bodily injury to third parties on your premises or as a result of your operations
- Damage to third-party property caused by your activities
- Legal defence costs in defending claims
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Public Liability (PL) insurance pays for legal costs and compensation when a member of the public, a customer, visitor, neighbour, or passer-by, suffers bodily injury or property damage as a result of your business operations and brings a claim against you. It is distinct from Professional Indemnity (which covers negligent advice) and Employers' Liability/WIBA (which covers your own staff).
Also covers
Costs and expenses awarded against you in court
Food and drink liability (extension for hospitality)
Who it's for
Retail and hospitality: shops, restaurants, hotels, bars, salons
Schools, gyms, clinics, and other premises with public footfall
Event organisers, conference centres, and entertainment venues
Goods in Transit Insurance
Covers goods and merchandise against loss or damage while being transported by road, rail, or sea within Kenya and across borders.
What it covers
- Loss or damage to goods in transit due to accident, fire, or overturn
- Theft and hijacking of vehicle or cargo
- Loading and offloading losses (subject to policy)
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Goods in Transit (GIT) insurance covers cargo against loss, theft, hijacking, and damage while being moved from one location to another. In Kenya, GIT is essential for distributors, manufacturers, importers, retailers, and own-account hauliers: anyone whose business value travels by road, rail, lake, or sea. The motor policy covers the truck; GIT covers what is in the truck.
Also covers
Pilferage during transit (extension; typically with sub-limit)
Damage from rain or seawater ingress on uncovered or breached loads
Who it's for
Manufacturers and distributors moving finished goods to customers
Importers and freight forwarders handling inbound cargo from Mombasa or JKIA
Retail chains restocking branches across Kenya
Fidelity Guarantee Insurance
Protects your business against financial loss caused by dishonest or fraudulent acts of your employees.
What it covers
- Theft of money, securities, or goods by employees
- Fraud, embezzlement, and forgery committed by employees
- Computer fraud: manipulating systems to divert funds
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Fidelity Guarantee insurance: sometimes written as Employee Dishonesty or Crime cover: pays the business back for money or goods stolen, embezzled, or fraudulently obtained by employees acting alone or in collusion. It is the most under-bought commercial cover in Kenya: most businesses think 'it won't happen to us' until it does, often years into a trusted employee's tenure.
Also covers
Funds transfer fraud: fraudulent payment instructions
Investigation and audit costs to determine the loss (sub-limit)
Who it's for
Businesses with cash-handling: retailers, supermarkets, restaurants, fuel stations
Companies with significant accounts payable / accounts receivable exposure
Saccos, microfinance institutions, and other financial intermediaries
Contractors All Risks (CAR) Insurance
Comprehensive single-policy cover for construction projects: contract works, plant, materials, and third-party liability under one wording.
What it covers
- Permanent works under construction up to the contract value
- Temporary works, formwork, and falsework
- Construction plant and machinery on site (cranes, excavators, mixers)
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Contractors All Risks (CAR) is the all-in-one policy that should sit on every Kenyan construction project: large or small. It combines property cover for the works under construction, plant and machinery on site, materials, and a third-party liability section, all under a single wording with a single excess. Most main contracts now require CAR with the employer (the client) named as a co-insured.
Also covers
Construction materials on site or in transit to site
Third-party bodily injury and property damage from the works
Who it's for
Main contractors and sub-contractors on building and civil projects
Real estate developers and project owners
Civil engineering contractors: roads, water, energy projects
Money Insurance
Covers loss of money on the business premises, in transit, in safes, and at the bank: by theft, robbery, or accident.
What it covers
- Money in transit between premises, bank, and customers
- Money on premises during business hours
- Money on premises out of business hours (in locked safe)
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Money insurance is the specialist cover for businesses that handle physical cash. It picks up where burglary and fire policies stop: money in safes, money in tills, money in transit to and from the bank, and money in the personal custody of authorised employees and directors. Where a burglary policy gives you only a token KES 50,000–200,000 money limit, a dedicated Money policy can run into the tens of millions per consignment.
Also covers
Money in custody of authorised directors or employees
Money in night safes and ATMs
Who it's for
Retailers, supermarkets, and shopping centres
Fuel stations and convenience stores
Hotels, bars, and restaurants with cash takings
Electronic Equipment Insurance
All-risks cover for electronic equipment: computers, servers, medical electronics, specialist machinery, including breakdown and consequential data loss.
What it covers
- All-risks property damage to electronic equipment (fire, theft, accident, breakdown)
- Mechanical, electrical, and electronic breakdown, including internal causes
- Power surges, voltage fluctuations, and lightning-induced damage
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Electronic Equipment Insurance (EEI) is the specialist all-risks policy for electronic kit: computers, servers, networking gear, medical electronics, broadcast equipment, telecoms systems, and specialist control instruments. It covers what Fire & Perils doesn't: breakdown, mechanical and electrical faults, power surges, accidental damage, and the consequential cost of data loss and increased cost of working.
Also covers
External data media (backup tapes, disks, removable storage)
Cost of reconstructing lost data and software (sub-limit)
Who it's for
Hospitals, clinics, and diagnostic centres with medical electronics
Banks, saccos, and financial institutions
ISPs, data centres, and tech companies
Business Interruption Insurance
Replaces the gross profit you lose, and pays the extra cost of keeping trading, while your business recovers from insured fire or other damage.
What it covers
- Loss of gross profit from reduced turnover after insured damage
- Increased cost of working to keep the business trading
- Wages for staff retained during the shutdown (if selected)
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A fire policy rebuilds the premises and replaces the stock. It does not pay the rent, the salaries, and the loan repayments that keep falling due while the doors are shut, or replace the profit on the sales you cannot make. Business Interruption insurance does: it pays the gross profit you lose during the indemnity period, plus the extra cost of trading from temporary premises, hiring equipment, or outsourcing production so you keep your customers.
Also covers
Auditors' and accountants' fees for preparing the claim
Loss following damage at a key supplier's or customer's premises (extension)
Who it's for
Manufacturers whose output stops if the plant is damaged
Hotels, restaurants, and hospitality businesses
Hospitals, clinics, and diagnostic centres
Machinery Breakdown Insurance
Covers plant and machinery against sudden mechanical and electrical breakdown: boilers, generators, compressors, driers, and production lines.
What it covers
- Sudden and unforeseen mechanical breakdown
- Electrical breakdown, short circuit, and overvoltage
- Failure of safety devices and operator error
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Most factory downtime is not caused by fire. It is caused by a boiler tube failing, a generator seizing, a motor burning out, or a control panel shorting. Fire & Perils does not respond to any of these, because they are internal breakdowns rather than external perils. Machinery Breakdown insurance fills that gap: it pays to repair or replace the machine, including dismantling, freight, and re-erection costs.
Also covers
Explosion and collapse of boilers and pressure vessels (where scheduled)
Dismantling, repair, freight, and re-erection costs
Who it's for
Manufacturers and agro-processors with production lines
Tea, coffee, and dairy factories with boilers and driers
Hotels and hospitals with chillers, lifts, and standby generators
All Risks Insurance (Portable Equipment)
Covers laptops, phones, cameras, and other portable business equipment against accidental loss, theft, and damage, on or off your premises.
What it covers
- Accidental loss of listed items
- Theft, including theft from vehicles (subject to the locked-boot condition)
- Accidental damage, including drops and liquid spills
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A laptop stolen from a car, a phone dropped on a site visit, a camera damaged at an event: these are the losses businesses actually suffer on portable equipment, and none of them is covered by a burglary policy, which needs forcible entry to your premises, or by Fire & Perils. All Risks cover follows the item wherever it goes, and pays for accidental loss, theft, and damage unless a specific exclusion applies.
Also covers
Cover on and off your premises, including in transit
Worldwide territorial limits (if selected)
Who it's for
Businesses that issue laptops and phones to staff
Field sales, survey, and inspection teams
Media, photography, and events companies

Keep Your Business Running: Whatever Happens

What We Cover

Fire & Perils (IAR) Insurance

Burglary Insurance

WIBA / Employers' Liability Insurance

WIBA Insurance: Work Injury Benefits Act Compliance

Professional Indemnity Insurance

Public Liability Insurance

Goods in Transit Insurance

Fidelity Guarantee Insurance

Contractors All Risks (CAR) Insurance

Money Insurance

Electronic Equipment Insurance

Business Interruption Insurance

Machinery Breakdown Insurance

All Risks Insurance (Portable Equipment)

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