Category: Insurance

The Lagos State Government will ensure seamless operations of sawmillers in their new location – Timberville, Owu-Ikosi and Agbowa – as they prepare to move from the waterfront of Okobaba in Ebute Metta.

Its Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr. Idris Salako and other top ministry officials, who were on a visit to the new site, said the facilities were being provided to facilitate hitch-free wood processing and sales.

Salako noted that the facilities which include link roads and internal roads, drainage, electricity, housing and display sheds were being provided for the comfort of sawmillers and their customers.

He explained that the government had resolved the issue of connectivity by providing an alternative link road as supplement to the main road, thereby making it possible to approach the Timberville from Ikorodu-Itoikin road.

At the time of the visit, the alternative road of 1.265km is almost completed to support unhindered movement from Okobaba to Timberville.

“While the main road requires strenuous engineering works, such as the construction of a deck-on-pile among others, the alternative road to the Timberville has attracted urgent and immediate attention of the state and would soon be completed in a few weeks time to supplement the major link road under construction, “ he said.

 

He noted that work on the major link road, covering a distance of 2.65km had progressed to the stage where the structure work for the bridge was nearing completion, having sunk about 316 piles.

 

Details of other facilities, according to commissioner, include installation of 8 power transformers with the total capacity of 500KVA as well as the provision of 260 units of 2-bedroom bungalows, 100 units of which were released from Odo-Onosa housing scheme by the Lagos State Government to augment housing requirements of the sawmillers in Timberville.

 

Other social amenities at Timberville are canteen, meeting hall and trailer park.

 

Sub-Saharan, national, regional and international reinsurers achieved an average yearly growth in gross written premiums of 9.15 per cent between 2011 and 2020, a report by the Atlas Group, an insurance and reinsurance analyst, has shown.

According to the report, the performance comes at a time local currencies are experiencing significant depreciation against the dollar.

Nigeria’s Naira and South Africa’s Rand, for example, depreciated by 63.5 per cent and 54.8 per cent over the past decade.

This premium growth is mainly attributed to non-life insurance. With the exception of South Africa, life insurance is not very developed in many Sub-Saharan countries.

From 2011 to last year, this growth dynamic was punctuated by periods of double-digit growth (+19 per cent in 2013, +15 per cent in 2017) and others marked by a sharp decline (-10 per cent in 2015).

The contraction in premiums, observed between 2014 and 2016, was due, among others, to the collapse of oil prices. With the economic recovery from 2016 to 2019, the curve quickly recovered. During this period, premiums grew by an average of 12.8 per cent over four years.

The COVID-19 pandemic, however, plunged the market back into stagnation with reinsurance premiums growing by 0.82 per cent in 2020.

Of note is that Sub-Saharan reinsurers are  focused on local risks. They are, therefore, not exposed to losses linked to natural catastrophes. The region’s average loss ratio is, therefore, better than that exhibited by the global reinsurance market. The average loss ratio for 2020, stands at 59.5 per cent for AM Best rated reinsurers in the subcontinent, compared to 76.2 per cent for the top 50 global reinsurers.

In 2016, this ratio was 53.2 per cent. In the absence of major claims, this nearly six-point deterioration in the loss ratio in four years is accounted for by fierce competition, the erosion of premium rates, rising claims costs with the depreciation of local currencies particularly for reinsurers that operate in dollars and set up their balance sheets in local currency, economic instability and political uncertainty.

Another factor points to the management expenses that are often high.  This increase in administration and business acquisition costs affects the management expense ratio and by extension the combined ratio. Management expenses amounted to 38.4 per cent in 2020 for all reinsurers in Sub-Saharan Africa, compared to 28.7 per cent for the top 50 reinsurers worldwide.

The average combined ratio for the region stood at 97.9 per cent in 2020. It fluctuated between 91.2 per cent and 93.2 per cent during  2014-2016 before reaching a peak of 99.2 per cent in 2019.

The need for motor insurance cover has become more crucial as finances continue to shrink in the country.

To avoid paying from your pockets when you are involved in a motor accident, theft, and fire, among other unforeseen circumstances, experts have urged Nigerians to purchase a motor insurance cover.

There are two types of motor insurance covers in the country. They include third party motor insurance and comprehensive motor insurance policies. Third party liability cover is a legal requirement under the Motor Vehicles Act. The beneficiary of the policy is someone other than the two parties involved in the contract (the car owner and the insurance company).

Benefits of motor insurance

The Third party policy covers the insured’s legal liability for death or disability of third party loss or damage to the third party property. Since the third party insurance cover is mandatory, all non-life insurance companies have an obligation to provide this cover. Third party insurance covers you for damage to other people’s vehicles, if you are by any means involved in a car accident and is deemed at fault.

Comprehensive insurance, on the other hand, not only covers you for damage to other people’s vehicles, but also covers your own car as well. If your vehicle is stolen or damaged in an accident, even if you’re at fault, comprehensive cover has your back. There is a variant of motor (third party) insurance in the market where for a premium of N10,000, the policy can be extended to cover damage to the limit of N250,000.

 

Motorist reacts

In an interview, Mr Collins Osakwe, who works in a bank, said he bought third party insurance from Mutal Benefits but has never made claim.

He said although he has been involved in a minor road accident once where a car hit him from behind, he didn’t make any claim because he felt the processes would be too long and time consuming.

He noted that he would try and explore the benefits in future.

A businessman, Mr Chikodi, stated that he has a third party insurance which he purchased at the rate of N5000 from an insurance firm.

He noted that he had never made claim of it because he had never been involved in an accident.

 

NIA recount efforts

The Chairman, Nigeria Insurers Association (NIA), Mr. Ganiyu Musa, at a media forum in Lagos, said aside their discussion with the Lagos State Government, insurers were discussing with Kaduna, Niger, Kogi and Ogun state governments to ensure that motorists get genuine insurance cover at the point of renewing their vehicle particulars at licensing offices across these states.

Musa said the stakeholders in the industry were unhappy with what it is losing to racketeers and non-insurance of vehicles, adding that the association, aside engaging these five states, planned to extend to other states.

“We are also working with the state vehicle inspection service on enforcement of motor third party insurance in the state.

“We are engaging Niger, Kaduna, Kogi and Ogun states, and remain hopeful that other states will see value in the platform and embrace it,’’ he said.

Some insurance experts have met in Lagos to identify areas of growth. Omobola Tolu-Kusimo reports.

The lack of enforcement of compulsory insurances in the country has remained the bane of insurance sector growth.

Besides, insurance firms need to increase capacity to retain more risks locally and develop staff technical know-how, among others, for  their profitability.

Experts made this known at a media parley sponsored by Boff & Co Insurance Brokers Limited and B. Adedipe Associates Limited at the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers in Lagos.

The theme of the event was: “2021 review and 2022 economic outlook”.

The experts agreed that while the industry has improved its capacity over time, a lot of insurance businesses are still insured offshore.

They identified operators and regulators’ cooperation, sustained and stakeholders’ engagement, among others, as critical to the growth and development of the sector.

In his presentation, the Chief Consultant of B. Adedipe Associates Limited, Dr. Biodun Adedipe said Nigeria still experience insurance low penetration.

Asking why and what the government could do, he stated that it should be responsible to its insurance obligations.

He called on the government to  pay its premium, be flexible and enforce necessary laws.

He maintained that if the government and its agencies like the National Insurance Commission  had taken enforcement more serious, then,  there would positive changes and the industry would create more value.

He noted that when the sector is vibrant, it will enable businesses and entrepreneurs to take risks which is part of the growth.

On the low insurance penetration in Nigeria, the economist said there was the need for operators to provide adequate information to policyholders and prospective insurance buyers.

He said: “If someone says because of religion, we can point them to the direction of takaful. People need to see that insurance is fundamental and important for growth.

“Globally, insurance is becoming more important and Nigeria cannot be left out from this trend. While I applaud the sector for some of its areas of achievement, there are still areas that needs to be improved upon,” Dr. Adedipe stated.

Also, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Boff & Co Insurance Brokers Limited, Chief Babajide Olatunde-Agbeja, said there was the need for increased capacity, regular staff training, investment in information and technology and regular engagement with stakeholders to grow the sector.

“There is the need for increased capacity in the sector. When Boff an Co started the Special Risk cover 25 years ago, we were doing about 70 per cent of our portfolio abroad. Overtime, it reduced from 70 per cent to about 20 per cent and in the last six months, we had problems of finding excess capacity to insure abroad. I am proud to tell you that, as of today, the businesses we did in the last three months were 100 per cent placed in Nigeria.

“The capacity is growing but we need to back it up with technical know-how, training and retraining of staff. Insurance industry should keep pace with the trend of events globally because insurance business is an international business.”

On the need for recapitalisation of the industry, he said those who went to court to stop the earlier  recapitalisation were doing a lot of disservice to insurance industry.

“Although the industry is doing well, we only need to be better. We need to be sincere, be professional, and ensure that capacity increases continuously.

“The economy is opened, investors are coming in to investing in life and general businesses and special risks, because they have seen things we are not seeing and we need to work more on our technical know-how because that’s still lacking,” Agbaje added.

Earlier,the Chairman, National Association of Insurance and Pension Correspondents Association of Nigeria (NAIPCO), Chuks Udo Okonta, explained the objective of the NAIPCO Media Parley with Boff and Company Insurance Brokers Limited and B. Adedipe Associates Limited.

Okonta, who is the Publisher of Inspenonline, said the parley was put in place to enable reporters  meet with experts to do last year’s economic review and examine this year’s outlook to enable them inform the public well.

“Every information you are going to give us here today, we are going to digest it ourselves before putting it out to the public,” he added.

There is the need for  insurers on the continent to unite and address the challenges of growth, the President, African Insurers Organisation (AIO), Mr. Tope Smart has said.

Smart, who is also the Group Managing Director of NEM Insurance Plc, made this call in his New Year’s message to insurers in Africa.

He stated that this had become necessary as insurance penetration rate in Africa remains low when compared with global average.

He noted that they needed to bridge the gap by addressing the challenges confronting them as a sector in Africa.

He believed they could do it with  more determination.

While calling on the insurers to  renew their trust in AIO executives, he said he looked forward to a better industry.

He said: “Together, we are working on several projects, which we believe, will bring us closer and make us stronger and better.

“So, it is with distinct pleasure that I join you in welcoming this New Year. AIO will be celebrating 50 years of existence this year in Nairobi, Kenya and this is a milestone we need to celebrate in grand style. We have done much, and we will do more.’’

Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc has reiterated its commitment to sustainable initiatives geared at ensuring greater performance and profitability this year.

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mrs. Cecilia O. Osipitan,  in her new year’s address during the yearly thanksgiving and praise at the first working day meeting of the year, said the company’s performance and challenges faced in 2021, formed part of the highlights of the session.

While appreciating the staff members for their performances in the past year, she urged her colleagues in the management to be committed and dedicated in ensuring that the targets set for 2022 were met and surpassed.

She appealed to them not to relent in their quest of making the GNI brand the most preferred and patronised brand in the insurance industry.

She announced the results of the half-year appraisal, which according to her, is in tune with the organisation’s resolve to recognise and reward outstanding performance.

The exercise showed that 16 employees were elevated in different cadres of the organization to higher positions of responsibility while 13 members of staff received their employment confirmation owing to a satisfactory performance during their probationary period.

She said: “Our greatest asset is the human capital which we have recognized as the key success factor in organizational growth and survival, hence we will keep motivating our employees through a continuous reward process so that they can perform at their optimal level at all times.

“The organization’s theme of the year was ‘2022 Our Year of Phenomenal Growth and Profitability’, which espoused on the need to consolidate on the gains of the past years while also re-strategizing on how to make the business more profitable, whilst providing customer-focused solutions to the insuring public in the new year”, she added.

Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, a member of Standard Bank Group, has taken steps to ensure that the Super Eagles wins the ongoing African football tournament, the African Cup of Nations (AFCON), in Cameroun, its Chief Executive, Dr. Demola Sogunle, has said.

Sogunle in a statement said Stanbic IBTC and the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) entered into a partnership late last year, that would see the former, through its insurance subsidiary, Stanbic IBTC Insurance Limited, provide Group Life Insurance cover worth N1.73billion accident insurance cover for each player of the national team, worth N583 million yearly for the next three years.

According to him, by this development, Stanbic IBTC becomes the  insurance sponsor of the Super Eagles as the MoU signed between the  organisation and the NFF came into effect the year.

He noted that the partnership is predicated on youth empowerment, which is one of the pillars of the institution, and football development.

NFF President, Amaju Pinnick added that the partnership is in favour of the players.

He said: “The partnership also entails empowering female journalists by sponsoring them to cover matches played by the Super Eagles. Stanbic IBTC, as a foremost gender-balanced zealot, has sponsored four female sports correspondents: Funmilayo Adeyemo, Justina Aniefiok, Janefrances Nweze, and Faith Meregbunam to AFCON 2021.’’

The 2022 AFCON tournament has 24 participating teams. Nigeria bringing home the cup is the most anticipated expectation. Unlike previous years, the Super Eagles will go head-to-head with the Pharaohs of Egypt in the anticipated match, knowing that Stanbic IBTC Insurance fully covers them.

Leadway Assurance is offering an additional insurance solution to its flagship agricultural insurance product to cover crop farmers for losses incurred due to cattle grazing encroachment into their farmlands.

The Leadway Multi-Peril Crop Insurance Product is a policy that provides financial recovery for farmers who suffer losses relating to domestic animal encroachment by herders invading a farm and causing destruction or reduction in the value of crops.

The underwriting firm has advised crop farmers to take advantage of the product and inquire on how to access the additional insurance solution.

This unique and timely policy is in response to the plight of farmers who have suffered huge financial losses arising from the destruction of their crops and farmlands during encroachment by nomadic cattle.

The Head, Agric and Micro Insurance, Leadway Assurance, Ayoola Fatona, said the extended policy coverage will encourage continued investments in farming to prevent nationwide food security.

He said: “As a leading risk bearer and insurance service provider, especially for the agribusiness sector, we aim to provide top-notch service, satisfy our esteem farmers, agribusiness investors with our dynamic, bespoke and comprehensive insurance solutions. The call by farmers for us to extend insurance cover to include the risk of cattle encroachment has been growing over the years, and in our usual characteristic manner of responding to the needs of our customers, we decided to cover the peril of cattle encroachment as an extension to our existing crops policy.

“Our crops policy covers farmers at the time of loss, mostly against natural perils like flood, drought, windstorm, prolonged dry spell etc.

“The farmers who suffer losses relating to animal encroachment would get compensated with the deployment of this exemplary risks management tool. It is a win-win solution for the farming ecosystem and the food consuming population in Nigeria.‘’

With this audacious step, there is no gainsaying that Leadway Assurance is poised to make farming an endeavour that bears peace of mind, despite the increasing famers-herder’s conflicts that dominate the agricultural sector in Nigeria,” Fatona added.

Mutual Benefit Assurance Plc and Mutual Benefit Life Assurance Limited have been fully recapitalised at N20 billion as at December 2020, the Chairman, Dr Akin Ogunbiyi has said.

He spoke at the Mutual Benefits’ 26th Annual Thanksgiving Service held over the weekend in Lagos.

Ogunbiyi said Mutual Benefit Assurance Plc, which handles  general business, is recapitalised for N12 billion while the life business is N8 billion.

Ogunbiyi said the companies prepared despite that he is opposed to the recapitalisation agenda of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM).

He noted that Mutual Benefits is one of the six insurance companies that are fully recapitalised in the insurance industry.

He said the recapitalisation that has seen some groups drag the regulator, NAICOM to court has caused disruptions on businesses, wondering how the groups could sue the commission, an arm of government without any consequence.

The insurance industry is still riddled with poor product knowledge, poor image, low penetration level, poor contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), low underwriting capacity issues, slow adoption of technology, poor leadership, and weak governance and regulatory bottlenecks.

Other challenges are unavailability of reliable statistical data and unprofessional and unethical conducts by practitioners, among others.

On the other hand, the industry has evolved from analogue to a digitally-driven industry. Office processes are getting automated, manual registers and records are being phased out, policy and clients’ statistics are being spooled electronically, policy documents are being generated and transmitted electronically.

The latest is the development of  app, which makes it possible for you to buy insurance, including claims reporting and processing, on your mobile phone, from the comfort of your bedroom.

Also, the industry, which was in the past reputed for poverty, extreme conservatism, hungry – and haggard-looking workforce, and dishonesty, among others, now own or occupy magnificent structures in high-brow areas, while employees are well-remunerated, with attractive conditions of service.

An insurance broker, Casmir Azubuike, made this known in a paper entitled: “‘Changing the face of insurance practice’’which he presented at a forum in Ogun State.

Casmir, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Afriglobal Insurance Brokers Limited, maintained that the industry has been going through digital transformation, which is boosting its acceptance.

He said: “The industry has succeeded in reversing this negative image,’’ noting that it is still grappling with challenges. The face of insurance practice in Nigeria had been over the years characterised with poor image, and very poorly embraced by the public.

“However, conscious efforts are being made by practitioners to launder the image. Much as some level of success are being recorded, the greater national challenges of corruption begotten by very poor standard of living is making it difficult for the efforts to yield as expected. Similarly, the very low per capital income has relegated insurance to the least in the priority list.”

Chairman, Lagos Building Investment, Hakeem Ogunniran, said with Nigeria’s insurance penetration at abysmal 0.5 per cent, stakeholders need to embrace digital revolution to grow the business and contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

According to the expert, while the country’s insurance penetration stands at 0.5 per cent, South Africa has 13 per cent and Africa’s share to the world at eight per cent.

He added that the industry, which is conservative, should as matter of urgency, keep pace with the technology space and key into the digital revolution.

“I think insurance people always like to sit on the fence. You cannot do that any longer, but must create the storm of disruption for the needed penetration to happen,’’ he said.

Africa Insuretech Rising Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Tunde Salako said insuretech is fast evolving, and has the capacity to unleash new value chains, new markets, and massive opportunities to deepen insurance penetration.

Salako stated that global funding for Insurtech into Africa as at last October has hit $30.3 million, with South Africa having 65 per cent of the fund from just three companies, while Nigeria is having between $450,000 and $500,000, which are unlocking values chains in the area of efficiency, fraud management, micro insurance, brokerage, analytics and cloud computing(end-to-end).

He added that insurers must be ready to key in and take advantage of the opportunities as the market is changing and will not remain the same.