Effective Management of Strategic Issues in the Insurance Industry, Kenya

The purpose of this study is to examine how companies could prepare themselves to deal effectively with strategic issues affecting them with particular reference to the insurance industry in Kenya. This follows the turbulent environment in which the insurance industry in general and the Kenyan insurance industry in particular are currently operating in: international competition, the rapid technological changes, regional integration and globalization, change in customer needs and preference among others. These pressures have created the need to explore the current strategic issue management practices in the insurance companies in Kenya. In order to meet this objective, a census of all 38 insurance firms in Kenya was conducted by use of questionnaires. The findings led to the conclusions that, although most insurance companies in Kenya study strategic issues affecting their operations, none demonstrated the use of superior methods such as the European matrix method. Keywords: Strategic Issue Management, Insurance Companies, European Matrix Method, Strategic Managemen