A new law on accident compensation, enacted in October 2025, has maintained Rwf3,000 as the minimum daily compensation for victims without verifiable income — the same amount established by a 2016 Supreme Court ruling.
When the draft legislation was presented to Parliament in June 2025, the government proposed reducing the daily rate to Rwf2,000, arguing that the Rwf3,000 benchmark had become a financial strain on insurers. The proposed amount was equivalent to Rwanda’s monthly tax-free income cap of Rwf60,000.
However, the final version of the law, published in the Official Gazette on October 21, retained the Rwf3,000 rate, reaffirming it as the legal minimum.
Under the new provisions, insurance companies will continue calculating compensation based on the victim’s daily wage, multiplied by the period between the date of death and the expected retirement age.
According to MP Hope Tumukunde Gasatura, Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Security, Parliament’s decision was guided by legal precedent and social fairness.
She explained that the 2016 Supreme Court ruling had based the Rwf3,000 figure on the average earnings of a construction helper (locally known as umuyede) at the time — a rate that has served as a standard for nearly a decade.
“Given that some casual laborers now earn up to Rwf8,000 per day, a few lawmakers even suggested raising the benchmark,” Tumukunde said. “Eventually, we chose to keep Rwf3,000 but included a clause allowing the responsible minister to review and adjust it when necessary.”
Tumukunde emphasized that embedding the figure in law ensures consistency and transparency in compensation while protecting victims from potential underpayment.
Still, insurance companies have voiced concerns that maintaining the Rwf3,000 baseline places a heavy burden on their operations. During an October 31 session with the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Security, insurers argued that the rate remains too high, particularly since some workers with formal, verifiable income earn less than Rwf3,000 per day.
Marc Rugenera, CEO of Radiant Insurance Company, described the financial impact as “unsustainable.”
“A daily rate of Rwf3,000 equals Rwf90,000 per month or more than Rwf1 million annually — even for someone without employment,” Rugenera explained. “When you project that up to retirement age at 65, the figures become extremely difficult for insurers to manage.”
The discussion also touched on the absence of a national minimum wage, which has remained unresolved since the 2018 labor law was enacted. In 2020, insurance companies — through their umbrella body, the Rwanda Insurers’ Association (ASSAR) — petitioned the Supreme Court, arguing that the lack of a minimum wage created a legal vacuum for determining compensation.
In its 2016 decision, the Supreme Court had filled that gap by setting Rwf3,000 as the general reference amount for daily compensation in accident cases involving victims with no proof of income.
While insurers maintain that the rate now exceeds realistic labor market levels, Parliament insists that the law strikes a balance between social justice and financial stability, ensuring fairness to both victims and service providers.