Mr. R.W. Grater from Phoenix Assurance Company UK appointed to run the company’s agency in Nairobi, becoming one of the first foreign insurance companies to be represented in East Africa.

Phoenix of East Africa Assurance Company Ltd. was formed in partnership with the local agent A. J. Miller & Sons Ltd. Initially, Kenyans only held 11% of the shares. By 1980 the Kenyan participation had grown to one-third to the shareholding.

Phoenix of East Africa Assurance and the Sun Alliance Group U.K. merged in the United Kingdom and the Kenyan operation was renamed Sun Alliance Insurance Company Limited.

The local shareholders took control of the company, reconstituted the company board and the name was reverted back to the original Phoenix of East Africa Assurance Company Limited (PEAL) resulting in the dawn of a new era for the company. The Company had a majority of local shareholders, with the Alibhai family holding 81% of the shares.

The local shareholders took control of the company, reconstituted the company board and the name was reverted back to the original Phoenix of East Africa As a step towards becoming a regional insurer, Phoenix of Uganda Assurance Company Limited was incorporated in 2003 wholly owned by the Alibhai family. The Company was licensed to do business in November 2003, with the first official transactions starting in January 2004.

Following regulatory changes which came into effect in 2012, the Alibhai family sold 62% of the shares in Phoenix of Uganda Assurance Company Limited (PUAL) to Phoenix of East Africa Limited (PEAL). The latter has been owned by The Mauritius Union Assurance Company Limited (MUA), through its subsidiary Phoenix TransAfrica Holdings Limited (PTHL) since May 2014.

MUA is the second largest insurance company in Mauritius, and is listed on the Stock Exchange of Mauritius since 1993. The Company was established in 1948. The Group now employs over 650 people, with agencies and branches in Mauritius, the Seychelles, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya.

The various divisions of the Mauritius Union Group, including Phoenix of East Africa Assurance Company Limited, came together under a single, regional and dynamic insurance brand – MUA.