Kenya / The first unpaid week
When work stops, which payment starts?
Map the first unpaid weekA broken arm, a longer illness and a hospital admission can interrupt the same pay packet—but they do not open the same benefit. Start with the cause, your work arrangement and the date cash is actually due.
Private Kenya research edition · no salary, employer, diagnosis or claim documents are collected here.
01 / The event comes before the product
Write down the first date earnings fail
An employee may have paid sick leave, an employer scheme or a work-injury route. A trader or rider may have no payroll continuation at all. These are different questions even when both people buy a personal-accident policy.
What happened?
Record the accident, illness or admission separately. Accident-only cover does not silently become sickness cover.
Who pays now?
Check employer pay, household reserve and actual receipts. Do not assume a claim is settled by the next payroll date.
What continues?
Hospital cash may stop at discharge; weekly disablement needs the contract’s work-capacity evidence and maximum period.
Write the trigger in one sentence: “I cannot do my insured work because of [event], from [date], and need [weekly cash / admission cash / capital].” Then ask the insurer to show where each part appears in the accepted schedule.
Before comparing a premium
Find the amount, its unit and the work it insures
A number beside “TTD” is not enough to fund a missed payday. These four source checks show where a benefit selection or written answer changes the decision. They are not four accepted offers; the selected worker-income premium remains Quote required.
| Source | Decision-changing detail | Get this answer before paying |
|---|---|---|
| First Assurance company homepage | The option table prints TTD amounts without stating a payment unit. Its Class 1 note restricts the described occupations; a larger capital sum does not establish weekly pay. | Confirm the selected TTD amount, currency, frequency, accepted duties and first payable day. Do not label the printed premium as monthly: its period is not stated. |
| Mayfair company homepage | Unlike the webpage headline, the proposal adds benefit-selection and earnings limits. Its page-2 aggregate wording and page-3 four-week earnings note need a consistent calculation. | Request a current weekly-benefit worksheet, accepted earnings and capital-sum limits, and how TTD interacts with death or permanent disability. Do not turn this older linked form into an automatic payout formula. |
| MUA company homepage | TTD appears in general prose but not the priced option table. The scope also says the policy lapses after payment without distinguishing the benefit concerned. | Confirm whether TTD is included and which payment ends which cover. A posted package premium proves neither recurring wages nor remaining cover after a claim. |
| Britam company homepage | Admission over three days is a qualifying threshold, not a published explanation of whether the first three days are paid. | Get the daily sum, first payable hospital day, maximum paid days and discharge rule. Do not assume each qualifying stay pays from day one. |
Describe the duties, not just “self-employed”. First’s brochure names professional/non-manual work and motorcycle/PSV-rider exclusions, yet also mentions requesting some hazardous-activity extensions. That is not automatic rider acceptance. Mayfair’s proposal asks about occupation, machinery and work travel. A shopkeeper who also makes deliveries needs those actual duties accepted in writing.
There is a separate weekly schedule, not a confirmed brochure match. First’s publicly hosted First Assurance company homepage labels the blank TTD schedule in KES per week on PDF page 15 (printed 14). PDF page 8 (printed 7) permits assessment before payment and deduction of weekly benefits from a later lump sum for the same accident. Ask whether this wording governs the selected Plus option; do not transfer its units or conditions to the brochure automatically.
The First brochure and Mayfair proposal remain linked summaries/forms, not this reader’s accepted contract. Their upload paths do not establish policy effective dates. Where periods or limits are unclear, keep the question open rather than converting the figures.
02 / What actually reaches the household
Four shapes, four different stopping points
The words “income protection” often sit over unlike promises. A large death or permanent-disability sum can be valuable, but it is not a weekly payment for a recoverable injury.
| Benefit | Published route may respond to | Ask in the accepted wording |
|---|---|---|
| Temporary total disablement | An accident that prevents the insured from doing the defined work for a period. | Is a weekly amount actually selected? Does it use wages or a fixed sum, and when does it stop? |
| Hospital cash | Qualifying days admitted, sometimes after a minimum stay. | What is the admission threshold, entrant wait, daily limit and discharge rule? It may not continue at home. |
| Permanent disability capital | A qualifying lasting loss, often assessed against a disability definition or scale. | Is it a lump sum, how is partial loss valued, and what medical assessment applies? |
| Family income after death | A dependant’s need after the insured dies. | Who is the beneficiary, what term applies, and is there any living-worker benefit? Never infer one. |
The dates do different jobs
Separate joining, qualifying and getting paid
Put each date on the household timeline. None of the durations below establishes the day money will reach a bank account.
| Clock | Source-specific meaning | Still needed |
|---|---|---|
| New-entrant wait | Britam Connect states 30 days from effective date, with an accident-treatment exception. | The accepted commencement date and any other selected exclusions. An exception is not a blanket day-one payment promise. |
| Admission and claim processing | Britam describes admission over three days; claims normally follow discharge, with processing allowed to start while still admitted after more than ten days. | Which days earn cash and when a complete, accepted claim is paid. Starting a claim after ten days is not a ten-day settlement guarantee. |
| Accident-consequence window | Mayfair’s webpage uses six months for an accident to result in a covered consequence. | The separate incapacity threshold or excess period and notice deadline. This is not a six-month wait before weekly pay starts. |
| Maximum benefit duration | Mayfair and GA describe up to 104 weeks for temporary disablement. | The actual weekly sum, ongoing work-capacity test, review dates and stopping rules. A ceiling is not 104 guaranteed instalments. |
Ask for two dates separately: the first day that can earn a benefit, and the expected payment date after the insurer has the required evidence. A medical certificate, a submitted form or an opened claim does not by itself establish acceptance.
03 / Kenya’s non-private routes
Do not put sick leave, WIBA and NSSF in one policy column
These routes have different qualifying people, causes and decision makers. A statutory right is not an insurer’s optional benefit, and a statutory form is not a private-policy claim.
| Route | What official material establishes | What it does not establish |
|---|---|---|
| Employment Act, section 30 | After two consecutive months of service, an employee has at least seven days’ sick leave at full pay then seven at half pay in each twelve-month period, subject to the stated medical certificate and notice conditions. | Not automatic cover for an independent trader or an unlimited monthly disability benefit. Check the employment contract and payroll record. |
| Work Injury Benefits Act | Sets the work-related injury and occupational-disease compensation route. The Labour Department explains DOSHS reporting and employer obligations. | Not a general illness policy or proof that an off-duty accident is compensated. Incident, employment and reporting facts matter. |
| NSSF invalidity benefit | NSSF describes a member benefit for certified permanent incapacity, including a separate age-50 partial-permanent-incapacity test. | Not a weekly temporary-injury payment. NSSF lists membership, medical and employment documents and a Fund-appointed medical examination. |
04 / Ten routes · 10 October baseline, 16 October document follow-up
Ten legal insurers, not ten interchangeable income policies
The IRA notice dated 30 March 2026 supplies the earlier legal-entity/class baseline. The 16 October direct check returned an HTML verification page, not a fresh PDF register. The current IRA route was also access-limited. These responses do not refresh licensing; verify the legal name and permitted class on the purchase date.
| Insurer-owned route | What this source actually describes | Ask before treating it as income cover |
|---|---|---|
| First Assurance company homepage | Individual personal accident includes temporary total disability; its public description gives an up-to-two-year limit. | What weekly benefit, earnings basis, start date and occupation test appear on this buyer’s schedule? |
| ICEA LION company homepage | Personal accident describes weekly income for temporary disablement up to 104 weeks, separately from permanent-disability capital. | Is weekly income selected, and what incapacity, excluded activities and proof rules apply? |
| CIC company homepage | Its FAQ distinguishes a temporary-total-disability income route for gainfully employed people from medical-expense support for self-employed people. | Which employment category will the insurer accept, and is a weekly benefit available to this worker? |
| MUA company homepage | Utulivu prose mentions temporary income loss, but the displayed plan table lists death, permanent disablement, medical, last-expense and hospital-cash limits—not a TTD line. | Does either quoted option actually include temporary-income benefit? Do not treat its posted plan price as a TTD premium. |
| Mayfair company homepage | Personal accident describes weekly temporary-total-disablement benefit linked to actual weekly wages, up to 104 weeks. | What accepted wage, medical incapacity and selected limit apply? Its six-month accident consequence window is not a six-month payment wait. |
| GA Kenya company homepage | An employer/group personal-accident route describes temporary disability against actual weekly salary for up to 104 weeks. | Is this person on the employer’s scheme and payroll declaration? It is not an individual retail offer. |
| Cannon company homepage | Personal accident lists temporary-total-disability cover when the usual occupation cannot be attended to, subject to a maximum fixed duration. | What is that selected duration and amount? The public page does not give this buyer a payable weekly rate. |
| Kenindia company homepage | Its group personal-accident page describes a selected weekly TTD amount and a 104-week ceiling; the site’s listed range is not a current personal quote. | Which employer scheme, declared wages and selected weekly limit apply? Do not move group terms to an individual. |
| Insurer reference retained internally; current source unavailable. | The insurer-hosted personal-accident brochure describes weekly loss-of-income support after accident-related temporary total disability for gainfully employed people. | Is that benefit selected in current wording, and what employment, amount and evidence test controls it? This PDF is not an accepted schedule. |
| Britam company homepage | Britam Microinsurance Company (K) Limited’s hospital cash describes admission over three days and a 30-day new-entrant wait except accident. | Which daily amount and hospital days are accepted? Cash linked to admission is not ongoing wage replacement after discharge. |
Count what was verified: ten distinct insurer-owned descriptions with a dated IRA legal-entity match; zero complete, current, accepted, comparable worker-income policies and zero matched KSh offers. Group cover, admission cash and uncertain TTD selection are not padded into a “top ten” ranking. The insurer’s schedule, full wording, licensed class and written acceptance still decide.
05 / A budget, not a benefit quote
How much of the next month needs a bridge?
Suppose a household has KSh 72,000 in unavoidable monthly commitments and KSh 24,000 in reliable income that continues. The illustrative KSh 48,000 gap is only a budgeting question. It says nothing about what any insurer will accept or pay.
| Line | Invented amount | The real-world check |
|---|---|---|
| Housing, food, school and essential debt | KSh 72,000 / month | Which bills continue if work stops, and which can safely be deferred? |
| Income that reliably continues | − KSh 24,000 / month | Is this genuinely available after the same accident or illness? |
| Cash to bridge | KSh 48,000 / month | How many weeks of reserve or employer pay precede an accepted claim? |
| Policy amount | Not calculated here | A weekly salary percentage, fixed admission cash or disability capital cannot be substituted for this budget figure. |
The first-week trap: even a policy with a high maximum may leave an early cash gap. Put the entrant wait, any incapacity or admission threshold, claims notice, medical review and actual payment timing beside the household reserve. Do not describe a six-month accident-consequence window as a waiting period.
06 / When a real event occurs
Make one chronology, then open the right files
A clean timeline helps the employer, statutory office and insurer answer different questions without sending sensitive records to an editorial website.
- 1
Get care and record the event
Keep the first treatment date, diagnosis or injury evidence and the date normal duties stopped. Note exactly what work could and could not continue.
- 2
Notify the right party
For a workplace event, follow employer and DOSHS reporting. For private cover, use the insurer’s verified notice route and its own time limit.
- 3
Prove the earnings basis
Retain payroll, contract or scheme membership; a self-employed person may need invoices, accounts and transaction records. Ask which measure the insurer accepts.
- 4
Separate each decision
File sick pay, WIBA, NSSF, accident TTD, admission cash and permanent disability separately. Request written reasons, offsets and review dates for each.
Record partial work honestly. First’s linked First Assurance company homepage asks about total/partial incapacity, business supervision and a doctor’s assessment. Mayfair’s Mayfair company homepage asks about pre-accident weekly income and compensation from other sources. Keep dates and supporting records; the forms do not establish this policy’s payable percentage or approve a claim.
Follow the actual cost
Keep the surrounding risks in their own lanes
These Kenya pages are private research, not quotes or insurer handoffs.
Questions before paying
Keep the promise precise
Is income protection one standard Kenyan insurance policy?
No. Public descriptions here span accident-only weekly payments, employer-group cover, hospital cash and permanent-disability capital. Ask for the exact selected benefit and wording.
Does personal accident cover illness?
Do not assume it does. The cited accident routes use accidental bodily injury. An illness-based inability to work needs its own explicit accepted trigger.
Is temporary total disablement the same as permanent disability?
No. TTD concerns a defined temporary inability to perform work, often with a weekly limit; permanent disability may be assessed for a capital sum. The tests and evidence differ.
Will hospital cash continue after discharge?
Do not infer that. Britam Connect’s cited route ties cash to qualifying admission and describes claims after discharge; it does not promise ongoing wages during home recovery.
Is the Mayfair six-month wording a waiting period?
No. Its accident page uses six months as a period within which an accident must result in a covered consequence. Ask separately about the first payable day.
Does MUA Utulivu's displayed price buy weekly income?
Not established. The page’s general benefits mention TTD, but its displayed option table has no TTD line. Ask for the selected schedule before attributing its price to wage cover.
Can an individual buy the GA or Kenindia group route shown here?
These cited descriptions are employer or group routes. Check eligibility through the named scheme; a group description is not an individual retail offer.
Does WIBA pay for an accident away from work?
WIBA is the work-related injury and occupational-disease compensation route. An off-duty event needs its own legal and policy assessment; it is not automatically covered.
What sick leave does the Employment Act describe?
Section 30 states a minimum after two consecutive months of service: seven days full pay then seven half pay per twelve months, subject to its certificate and notice conditions. Check your employment terms too.
Is NSSF invalidity a weekly sick-pay substitute?
No. NSSF describes permanent incapacity and membership/medical checks, not a standard temporary weekly accident or illness benefit.
Which of these ten insurers is cheapest?
None can be ranked from this evidence. There are no ten complete, accepted, like-for-like worker-income policies or matched KSh premiums here.
Where should I send my medical or pay records?
Use the verified employer, statutory body or legal insurer channel relevant to your claim. AfriPolicyCover collects none on this page.
Can I read First Assurance’s TTD figure as a weekly payment?
Not from the linked brochure alone: the unit is not printed beside those figures. The separately hosted standardized wording has a weekly schedule, but its application to the selected Plus option is not established. Ask for the accepted amount, period and governing wording.
Does a general personal-accident page confirm cover for a boda rider?
No. Get the actual riding, delivery or passenger-carrying duties accepted; a broad accident description or a request for an extension does not confirm rider eligibility.
Does Mayfair’s weekly-wage description mean my full salary is payable?
Not established. Its linked proposal adds selection, earnings and capital-sum constraints. Request a current calculation that reconciles the weekly, four-week and aggregate wording.
Does Britam’s three-day threshold mean the first three hospital days are paid?
The cited summary does not answer that. Confirm the first payable day and selected daily amount; qualification for a stay is not the same as the number of paid days.
Does Utulivu continue after any benefit is paid?
The public scope says payment ends the policy without clearly separating benefits. Ask MUA which payment ends which cover; do not assume every claim ends all cover or that weekly benefits continue.