Category: Insurance

  • Firm to sell products in local dialects

    Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc said it has adopted a nationwide radio campaign in local dialects to sell some of its personal line products.

    It said in a statement that the campaign will leverage on jingles in the major languages and Pidgin in some selected radio stations across the major commercial states and cities to drive the products.

    It said one of the major products on offer is the Sovereign Wellbeing Insurance Scheme for the Family (SWIS-F), adding that the product is a General Personal Accident (GPA) policy with varied features and benefits designed to cater for the family in any situation of eventuality. The premium for this package is N1, 500 per annum.

    It explained that the benefits range from out-of-work benefit resulting from any form of accident; covering medical expenses of the insured arising from accident, payment of wellbeing lump-sum and gives free cover for the fourth child under the age of 17. The features include 10 per cent no-claim bonus, affordable and flexible premium payment, covering strike and civil commotion and has no geographical limitation.

    The firm noted that with the current campaign, it is set to promote products under the Market Development & Restructuring Initiative, MDRI.

    “These products are basically designed to cater for Third Party liabilities whenever the need arises. They consist of the Third Party Motor Insurance, Occupiers’ Liability, Builders Liability and the Professional Healthcare Indemnity Insurance. For personal line products, prospective customers across the country can buy the Householders’/Houseowners’ policy, Fire & Burglary and All Risks Insurance for every of their private belongings in any of Sovereign Trust Insurance offices across the nation,” it said.

    The Assistant General Manager/Head, Direct Marketing Lanre Ojuola, said the move to embark on the radio vernacular campaign became necessary to erase the impression that insurance is only meant for the rich and mighty.

    “We have carefully studied the market and came to the conclusion that a greater percentage of our prospective customers reside in the grassroots areas and could be denied the opportunity of knowing what benefits they could derive from having an insurance cover, hence, the need to take this information to them via the local languages on radio stations,” he added.

    He noted that the initiative is in line with the company’s mission of ‘enhancing the everyday life of its customers’ across all sectors of the Nigerian economy and social class.

    The company’s spokesperson, Segun Bankole noted that the adaptation of the media campaign in vernacular is to further entrench the Brand’s recall rate amongst the identified social class with a view to developing strong business opportunities in those climes.

    He said the programme sponsorship is geared at educating this particular class of people on the need to make insurance a priority in their daily life.

    Its Managing Director Wale Onaolapo said: “The idea behind the initiative is to ensure that the generality of the target audience are well covered and can easily connect with the product and make informed decision in taking any of the policies applicable to them.

    “Our expectation of this campaign is that the target audience which cuts across, Teachers, Traders, Mechanics, Carpenters, Fashion Designers, Hair Dressers, Casual Labourers et al in the non-formal sector of the economy will avail themselves of the opportunities embedded in insurance.”

    He noted that the company launched the SWIS-F product in 2008 and has since been enjoying patronage from different socio-economic groups in the country but that this campaign would help enhance a larger coverage of prospective customers in localities yet to benefit from the product.

  • Non-life accounts for 61.6% of premium, says report

    A report by Researchmoz, world’s renowned research agency, has said the non-life segment of Nigerian Insurance Industry, accounted for 61.6 per cent of the premium underwritten by insurers, last year.

    The agency, which undertook in-depth market analysis, information and insights into the insurance industries in Nigeria, Gabon, Uganda, and Rwanda, said the Nigerian Insurance sector experienced strong growth over the review period, adding that the industry’s growth was supported by relatively stable macro-economic conditions and a favorable investment climate.

    It said: “The insurance industry in the country is very small, yet highly crowded and competitive. The key segment driving the overall industry is the non-life segment which accounted for the largest share of 61.6 per cent of the industry’s total written premium in 2012.

    “For low income earners, the Nigerian government has concertedly promoted micro insurance; however a poor understanding among consumers of the benefits of such products and inefficient distribution channels is limiting their spread,” the report indicated.

    According to the agency, the report provides a comprehensive analysis of the insurance industry and also provides historical values for the industry for the 2008 to 2012 review period and also provides forecast figures for the 2012 to 2017 forecast period.

     

     

     

  • ‘40% of Nigerians lack insurance knowledge’

    The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Riskguard Africa, Nigeria Limited, a pension and insurance consulting firm, Yemi Soladoye, has said 40 per cent of Nigerians lack any knowledge about what insurance is all about.

    Soladoye said this was discovered from a research work that was carried out under the development of microinsurance, which was made available to the National Insurance Commission.

    “According to a report submitted to NAICOM, at the end of the feasibility study for sales of microinsurance, the report revealed that 40 per cent of Nigerians don’t have any opinion about what insurance is all about, whether positive or negative.”

    According to the findings, most of those interviewed did not know what insurance does to individuals, or the society, while some saw insurance as a means to borrow money to buy assets.

    The insurance expert said that when the industry commenced campaign on the benefits of compulsory insurance, many people were excited about it and showed their readiness to obtain some of the insurance policies.

    He said the mortgage industry which should maximise the potentials of insurance, was not well developed to utilise insurance effectively.

  • Mutual to launch 50 micro products

    Mutual to launch 50 micro products

    Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc is set to roll out 50 micro-insurance products as part of efforts to boost the Market Development and Restructuring Initiative (MDRI).

    Its Group Managing Director, Akin Ogunbiyi, who made this known in a media parley in Lagos, said the first batch would be introduced in April, adding that the products were developed along social, demographic, trade groups and risks peculiar to each segment of the nation.

    He said the firm has taken time and expertise to develop the different products for the different groups and needs, as there are no more ‘Off the shelf ‘products for everybody.

    Speaking on means to get the products across to Nigerians, Ogunbiyi said the firm would open 200 offices by 2015, adding that 32 offices were opened last year and that the number would reach 70 by December this year. He said the effort would bring existing and new offices of the firm nationwide to 96 by the end of this year, adding that Lagos, Oyo, Osun and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) were used as the pilot states.

    He said the firm would create 22,000 new jobs by 2015 in line with the man-power need of the industry under the MDRI.

  • Standard Alliance girl wins Miss Insurance pageant

    A staff member of Standard Alliance General Insurance, Miss Sadiq Sefiya, has won this year’s Miss Insurance pageant organised by the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN).

    The pageant, which held in Lagos, was keenly contested by 12 ladies from different underwriting firms.

    Miss Cole Oluwayemisi of Anchor Insurance emerged the First Runner-Up and Ogunkoya Tolulope of AIICO Insurance was the Second Runner-Up.

    Miss Sefiya, who was excited, said she never gave the contest a thought when it was announced, adding that she made up her mind to participate at the last minutes.

    She said her boss and family members encouraged her to participate in the contest.

    The insurance Queen went home with the Star Prize is a Kia Picanto Car sponsored by Unity Kapital assurance Plc, while the First Runner-up and Second runner-up took prizes sponsored by Standard Alliance Life and African Alliance Insurance Plc.

    The President CIIN, Dr. Wole Adetimehin, said the pageant is organised to harness the potential of young ladies in the industry and by extension deepen insurance awareness.

    He urged the Queen to live up to the expectations, adding that the standard set by former queens has to be sustained.

  • New chair, ED for Leadway

    The Board of Leadway Assurance has appointed Mr. Umar Yahaya as its Chairman. He replaces its founding Chairman, the late Alhaji Hassan Hadejia-Shettiman Hadejia.

    According to a statement, Mr Yahaya is a former director of First Bank of Nigeria Plc and New Africa Merchant Bank Limited, among others.

    He is also a director of Fidelity Bank Plc, First Pension Custodians and a Trustee of PZ Cussons.

    Also, Ms. Adetola Adegbayi, has been named Executive Director, General Business. She joined Leadway Assurance 18 years ago as an Assistant Manager, and rose to the position of General Manager (Business Services and Special Risks) in 2009. She is a lawyer with varied experience in legal research, corporate legal practice, insurance and financial services.

    According to Hassan-Odukale, the appointments of Mr Yahaya and Ms. Adegbayi, reflect the dynamism within Leadway Assurance and its robust governance structure.

    The Life Business, General Manager is Mr Shadrack Sivhugwana, an actuary and Fellow of the South African Institute of Actuaries.

  • Currency transactions: Erring firms to be sanctioned

    The Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) has warned of severe sanctions against insurance firms that fail to report currency transactions of their customers.

    Its Director, Mrs Juliet Ibekaku, made this known at the National InsuranceCommission (NAICOM)Sensitisation Programme on Anti-Money Laundering and Combat of Financing of Terrorism Control Measures for Insurance Companies in Lagos.

    She noted that the NFIU’s end-of- year reports showed that only 3,871 Currency Transactions Reports (CTRs) were submitted by insurance companies last year. she added that the Unit would not hesitate to sanction some firms.

    Mrs. Ibekaku said failure to file currency transaction reports and Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) is a criminal offence.

    She said: “The NFIU would like to reiterate that failure to file CTRs and STRs is a criminal offence which the NFIU will enforce working closely with its counterpart in the law enforcement agencies and NAICOM.

    “The responsibility to take specific and timely action to prevent the financial system from reputational and legal risks rests mainly with the insurance companies in the first instance because of the nature of the services and products they offer to their customers and because of the type of clientele they serve.”

    She said the NFIU and NAICOM intends to issue further guidance on some of the emerging issues that have been observed, adding that the anti-money laundering law, mandates financial institutions to report transactions, lodgments or transfer of funds over N5 million or N1 million by an individual and N10 million or N5 million by a corporate entity to the NFIU.

    Deputy Director, Inspectorate, NAICOM, Emmanuel Farinu, said efforts were being made by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), to review jurisdictions globally to identify areas that pose risk to international financial system and determe the extent of compliance with anti-money laundering and combating financing of terrorism requirements.

    Assistant Director, Inspectorate NAICOM, Sam Onyeka, said the Commission has put in place measures that would enable operators to have a harmonised CTRs and STRs reporting system.

  • Cornerstone is FRSC’s partner

    CORNESTONE Insurance Plc has been appointed as the official partner of Federal Road Safety Commission’s (FRSC’s) Decade of Action Project in Zone 2 Command, covering Lagos and Ogun states. The appointment was in recognition of the firm’s strategic thrust of supporting projects capable of bringing enduring benefits to the people.

    The ‘Decade of Action’ 2011-2020 is a global programme launched by the United Nations in over 100 countries including Nigeria to reduce road deaths and injuries across the world.

    In a statement, Head, Brand and Corporate Communication, Zonal Command, Lagos, Mr Ademola Mafikuyomi, acknowledged the command’s challenges in its quest to make the highways safe for motorists and other road users in the state.

  • Oasis pays N494.5m claims

    Oasis Insurance Plc has said it settled N494.5 million claims last year.

    According to the Managing Director, Mr Babatunde Oshadiya, the company incurred claims worth N494,576,954.95 in motor, fire, marine, engineering and general accident insurance last year. He said the company would continue to discharge its duties to the public.

    While giving a breakdown of the claims settled last year, the Managing Director said the company paid N110,486,729.20 in motor insurance while general accident cost N154,135,016.79.

    Under the fire class, he said N135,706,209.22 was paid, and N29,228,965.47 and N23,747,134.41 were paid in Engineering and marine insurance. The company also paid N41, 272,899.86 under aviation and oil and gas.

    Mr Oshadiya said Oasis would continue to match excellent service with prompt claims settlement to meet the expectations of the insuring public and as well gain total acceptance for all the company’s products.

    In a related development, the Marketing Director of the company, Mr. Olatunde Balogun, said the company has set in motion strategies to move the company forward and record extra-ordinary success in terms of profit in the coming years.

    He further averred that necessary resources would be devoted to the marketing function in its pursuit of premium growth, while not neglecting the business operations in the delivery of effective underwriting and claims management.

    Balogun said in the last 20 years, Oasis Insurance has successfully met up with its contractual obligations to its teeming customers and the insuring public. He added that the company is poised to remain focused on its distribution channels to meet customers’ needs innovatively and efficiently. He, therefore, assured all stakeholders of openness, fairness, diligence and excellence service delivery at all times.

    “We are determined to satisfy the needs of our customers across all segments of the economy and we will continue to ensure that insurance products and services are available and affordable to everyone.

  • Royal Exchange to hire 2,000 agents

    Royal Exchange to hire 2,000 agents

    Royal Exchange Insurance Group is set to boost its operations with the services of 2,000 agents to sell its various products.

    Its Group Executive Director, Market and Sale, Auwalu Muktari, who made this known at its Meet the chief executive officers’ forum in Lagos, said the agents would be deployed to the firm’s outlets across the nation, adding that the company has developed a robust Information and Technology platform to support the agents.

    The firm’s Managing Director, Olutayo Borokini, said most of the products to be sold by the agents have been developed into scratch cards, adding that the firm hopes to sell all its products through scratch cards in small values which would be tailored towards specific needs.

    He said: “Those at the grassroots cannot be reached through the conventional brokers system. They are reached through agency networks which we are developing in- house. Also, we are deploying the use of information technology to achieve this.

    “We are putting some of these products on our website and sell them through the use of scratch cards through agents. The intension is that all our products will be sold through scratch cards in small values which would be tailored towards their specific needs.

    “The way the scratch card works is that if a young man has just bought a car, and wants to insure it, he would be approached by an agent who would educate him on the need for insurance. If the car owner agrees to insure the car, he would be given a scratch card. With the card, once he pays a certain amount of money, he would be able to access our web site, fill the proposal form on-line, and he would then get a cover automatically. The process can be done with all smart phones and gadgets. “

    He explained that an individual can still insure the content of his/her house through the cards, adding that certain products have been classified for certain prices. He said an individual can get a householder policy for one million value.

    “At the rate of one per cent, which would cost N10,000, an individual can get a cover which can be done through the scratch card by just buying a card for N10,000, key the pin on it on our customised website, and fill the proposal form and get the cover automatically, after due confirmation. The process assists the insured in the claims collection and ensures that delays are eliminated,” Borokini said.