Budding entrepreneurs in the agriculture sector have been urged to embrace risk management to record sustainable benefits in agriculture.

The President, Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers, Mrs. Bola Onigbogi, who made the call at Lagos State Farm Service Centre (FSC), Agege, said the agric vision of the government on the empowerment of young Nigerians in the critical sector was commendable.

She said agriculture is the basic source of food supply and contributes significantly to the economic advancement of several countries, hence must be adequately covered to prevent unforeseen occurrences that may discourage young entrepreneur.

Read Also: LASACO’s assests hit N20.5b

She emphasised that agriculture, being a critical sector with high volatility, ranging from natural to artificial risks; emphasis should be laid on risk management in the sector particularly through the embrace of insurance.

Mrs. Onigbogi, who was represented at the event by the Vice President of the Council, Mr. Tunde Oguntade, said the importance of insurance to the development of agriculture sector in Nigeria could not be overemphasized, noting that insurance would ensure that policy holders were restored in case of any calamity.

She urged the farmers to inculcate insurance in their plans before venturing into agriculture.

 

LASACO Assurance Plc has posted N20.5 billion total assets in its 2020 financial year, up by 11 per cent from N18.5 billion recorded in 2019.

The underwriting firm also witnessed 17 per cent growth in its Gross Premium Written (GPW), which stood at N10.9 billion as against N9.3 billion posted in the previous year.

Besides, net underwriting income for the year under review stood at N8.05 billion in the year under review as against N6.71 billion made in 2019, signifying 20 per cent improvement.

Also, 100 per cent increase was recorded in profit before tax from N347.7 million in 2019 to N696.4 billion while 115 percentage growth was recorded in profit after tax from N315.7 million in 2019 to N679.4 million in 2020.

Shareholders’ fund however declined by 2 per cent from N7.9 billion in 2019 to N7.8 billion in 2020.

The company further paid N3.2 billion on claims in 2020 financial year as against N2.1 billion in 2019.

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The company declared a dividend of 10 kobo per share to its  shareholders, to give good returns on investment to investors as well as shareholders.

The Chairman, Mrs. Teju Phillips, said at the company’s 41st Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos, that LASACO recorded a good result, despite the challenging situation during the year.

She explained there was a 49 per cent increase in claims payment, noting that this shows the seriousness the insurer put in payment of genuine claims promptly.

On the outlook, she said: “With the array of economic events, which we were able to manage in the previous year and strategies put in place by the leadership of the organisation, 2021 promises to be better for LASACO Assurance Plc. We are hopeful that the economic policy adjustments and reforms will aid the business environment positively.

“In the last one year, she said, the company has worked assiduously to map out strategies to improve its identity and visibility to increase sales and market shares and we believe that the strategic digital transformation plan will aid customer experience and the diversification of income streams deepening will add tremendous values to the bottom line.

“Plans have also been devised for the diversification of our investment portfolio. This will spur the organisation to growth through increase in investment income,” she added.

The Acting Managing Director, Mr. Razzaq Abiodun, said the insurer was on the right track, well- recapitalised to do acquire large business risks, adding that the firm had invested in IT to drive its transformation agenda to give values to investors and customers alike.

AIICO Insurance Plc has launched a virtual assistant, ELLA, a dedicated instant messaging service with built-in features that help customers make instant purchase or renewal of policies, claims reporting, product and service enquiries on WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Telegram, the Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Babatunde Fajemirokun has said.

Fajemirokun, in a statement, said the company is the first insurance company to deploy an AI-powered (Artificial Intelligence) service via the WhatsApp platform.

He stated that Ella is available 24/7, adding that the interactive chatbot enhances user experience as it takes on the personality of a young, intelligent, and efficient Customer Experience Manager.

Read Also: IGI to clear claims in batches

He said: “It helps reduce the time required for customers to purchase or access customer support service to a maximum of five minutes. Furthermore, it empowers existing and prospective customers to chat with AIICO for instant responses any time of the day. Even more impressive, the service offers simple, secure, and reliable messaging at zero cost.

“Our customer-centric approach essentially drives the launch of Ella and deployment on WhatsApp. With over two billion WhatsApp users globally and its increasing viral adoption locally, we believe it is an appropriate channel by which we can bring service closer to our customers. We understand how technology is transforming the world today and its impact on the lifestyle of our customers. Therefore, we will continue to invest in the best technology solution to provide our customer with a great experience.

“In the heat of the 2020 pandemic and global lockdown, the Company mitigated the impact by deploying technology-enabled solutions for business continuity. The great feedback from our customers and the marketplace is why we are laser-focused on quality service delivery irrespective of daunting challenges.”

 

Respite has come for claimants of the Industrial & General Insurance Plc. (IGI) as the firm has taken steps to expedite the clearance of outstanding claims.

Its Head of Corporate Communications, Steve Ilo made this known in Lagos.

According to him, as part of the efforts, due and substantiated claims would be settled in batches.

IIo said: “The new management of IGI indicated that the batching of payments takes immediate effect. The company structured the batch-by-batch system to ease the processing of the claims and ensure seamless disbursement, while allowing for verification and clearance of requisite documents.

Read Also: Life annuity: 1601 retirees get N5.43b

“Consequently, claimants have been grouped into batches and verified obligations in the surrender, maturity and other categories are now being paid in turns. The initial batches have been deployed and there is an assurance to adhere strictly to the structured approach and that each batch of claimants will be contacted as the exercise progresses.

“The management deeply appreciates the patience of the claimants thus far and regrets the inconvenience occasioned by the delay in payments. The company has paid over N1 billion as claims in the past 15 months. IGI will continue to consolidate relationship with our partners, even as we keep faith our renewed commitment to best standards, expeditious and satisfactory service delivery.’’

 

A total of 1601 retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), who choose to receive their retirement benefits through life annuity insurance, has got N5.43 billion as lump sum in the first quarter of the year, The Nation has learnt.

According to PenCom, N10.1 billion was approved for retiree life providers as premium.

The premium is the return on total monthly and quarterly annuities of N98.33 million in the period under review.

Similarly, the commission in the fourth quarter of last year approved  1,596 retirees for the life annuity.

In this period, N6.28 billion was approved for payment to the retirees, while N10.11 billion was approved for payment to 14 insurance companies as premium in return for total monthly and quarterly annuities of N111.67 billion.

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In addition, the commission approved payments of death benefits to 2,229 beneficiaries.

PenCom said: “During the quarter under review, approvals were granted for payment of death benefits amounting to N10.6 billion to the legal beneficiaries and administrator of 2,229 deceased employees and retirees.

“This comprised 1,505 employees of the Federal Government and state and 724 private sector employees and retirees.”

The commission noted that the total amount paid is exclusive of group life insurance of the Fedral Government, state and private.

Furthermore, an enbloc payment of retirement benefits was granted during the quarter under review.

“Tthe commission granted approval for enbloc payment of retirement benefits to 3,398 retirees whose Retirement Savings Account (RSA) balances were N550,000 or below and considered insufficient to procure retiree life annuity or programmed withdrawal of a reasonable amount for an expected life span.

“In this regard, a total sum of N803.02 million was paid to the 3,398 retirees from private sector,” the commission said.

 

Leadway Assurance Company Limited has unveiled a fast process of obtaining its comprehensive motor insurance policy in two minutes.

The new platform provides the guarantees of restitution in the face of risks whilst meeting the country’s legal requirement for vehicles and vehicle owners’ insurance.

Head of Retail, General Insurance, Leadway Assurance, Umashime Oguzor-Doghro, noted that the unveiling of the process did not only align with the brand’s continuous drive to deepen insurance penetration, but also provides customers with convenient access to a critical risk mitigation tool.

Read Also: Custodian Investment mentors 150 youths

“This strategic solution provides a win-win solution for the critical stakeholders in the insurance space – the public, insurance industry and the country at large – convenience for vehicle owners, increase in insurance products uptake for the industry and adherence to the legal auto-insurance requirement as obligated in the country,” she said.

Head, Digital Transformation at Leadway Assurance, Adeyinka Aderombi,  added: “In understanding the criticality, limited availability of time and its impact on the quality of our wellbeing, especially in today’s modern and fast-paced world, it has become imperative for service providers to incorporate time-saving tools which aid convenience, speed, and ease as a unique selling proposition in product and service offerings.’’

Custodian Investment Plc has held the third edition of the programme to connect  youths with mentors to teach them practical business lessons.

The conference, which held at the Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos State at the weekend, was attended by about 150 professionals.

Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (GMD/CEO), Custodian Investment Plc, Mr. Wole Oshin, said: “We realised that the youths are going about with the negative feeling that our generation has failed them and believing that the future does not look bright for them. So, we came up with the idea of a mentorship conference to bolster their confidence.

“The overriding idea is to connect the youths physically to people who can mentor them by taking them on a business journey with the hope that someday, they would have positive testimonies to share.”

Read Also: Anchor Insurance grosses N6.8b

He said participants were exposed to people like Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, Senior Economic Advisor at Africa Economic Development Policy Initiative (AEDPI); Mr. Leke Alder, Principal Consultant, Alder Consulting; Mr. Tonye Cole, co-founder and former Group Executive Director, Sahara Group; Mrs. Tara Fela-Durotoye, Chief Executive Officer of the House of Tara and Richard Mofe-Damijo, a Nollywood actor and film producer.

Also, Alder said: “When I started my business, I didn’t have anything. I only had N17,000. I took all the cards in our marriage gifts and I made cartoons from them which I sold in church,” remarking that the consolation was that, he could put something out and get a market for it.

He listed 12 principles which the participants must imbibe if they want to be successful.They include the need to have integrity, marry the right partner that would support their visions, be persistent in the pursuit of their dreams, not give up no matter the odds and understand that there would be trials but they should build capacity for the future.

Despite challenges faced by businesses last year, Anchor Insurance Company Limited has announced a gross written premium of N6.8 billion as against the N4.2 billion it recorded during the same period of 2019.

This represents 61 per cent performance over the result of 2019.

The company’s Profit After Tax recorded a 98 per cent increase from N220.2 million in 2019 to N436.5 million last year. Its total assets experienced an 87 per cent appreciation from N7.2 billion in 2019 to N13.5 billion in 2020.

Read Also: Sanusi, others: Takaful living up to expectation

The company’s Chairman, Dr.  Elijah Akpan, stated these during the organisation’s 31st Annual General Meeting.

At the virtual event, he noted that the company responded to claims demands from its affected genuine policyholders to the tune of N1.3 billion last year as against N929.6 million paid in 2019, stating: “As a tradition at Anchor Insurance Company Limited, we recognise the crucial role which regular payment of claims plays in keeping any serious insurer strong in the insurance market.”

The introduction of Islamic financial services into the financial sector is a landmark in the history of finance, and a significant achievement for Nigerians in  and Muslims in particular, Khalifa Muhammad Sanusi II, has said.

He spoke at the Noor Takaful Insurance Limited Surplus Distribution held at Ikeja, Lagos.

The Sharia-compliant firm is the pioneer composite Takaful Insurance firm in Nigeria.

Sanusi, who said he is honoured to be among those who played a leading role in the introduction of non-interest financial institutions, stated that it was during his tenure as Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, guidelines that the first Islamic banks were licensed.

Describing Takaful as one of the Islamic financial services that is a recent entrant into the financial services sector, he said the governance organs of these institutions that set them apart from conventional ones were instituted and “today, we are witnessing the growth of Islamic finance as alternative and complementary system of financial intermediation for the benefit of Nigeria and the economy”.

He however noted that conventional insurance has not found penetration, especially among Muslims in Nigeria.

He said: “Takaful insurance is a part of the growth trajectory of Islamic finance that was influenced by the introduction of Islamic banks and Islamic capital market entities. Its introduction is a testimony to the responsiveness of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), the insurance regulator of Nigeria. Banking and insurance services are a measure of the development of a country’s financial services.

“Conventional insurance has not found penetration, especially among Muslims in Nigeria. This is despite that insurance as a concept is not foreign nor abhorrent to the teachings of Islam. But it was shunned by Muslims due to its operational model, which was the reason an alternative model was introduced about four and a half decades ago. Protection of wealth is one of the fundamental objectives and higher intents of the Shari’ah.

“Allah the Most High said: ‘Do not entrust your wealth to the feeble-minded. Allah has made it a means of support for you’. Many verses in the Qur’an and many hadiths of the Prophet attest to the fact that the protection of wealth is a higher intent of the Divine Law of Islam. Insurance is based on protection of wealth, therefore the need for it is the level of necessity (al daruriyyat).”

He stressed that based on this need and reflecting on the practice of mutuality and collectiveness that is firmly embedded in the teachings of Islam, Takaful insurance was recognised by Islamic jurists, economists and finance experts as an alternative to conventional insurance.

“This spirit of mutuality and collectiveness was given this praise of a high order by the Prophet because of its potentiality in developing several means of mutual support and guarantee based on that spirit. And one of those means is Takaful insurance. Another teaching of Islam that demonstrates the spirit of mutual guarantee is the practice of the Al‘Aqilah, the paternal relations that jointly support a member of the family that is guilty of manslaughter by underwriting the payment of the blood money to the family of the victim.  This was a practice that was in existence before Islam and it was maintained in the Shari’ah of Islam because of what it has of the spirit of mutual guarantee that is central to Islamic social and economic life.

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“Takaful is derived from an Arabic word meaning joint guarantee. It is an arrangement based on mutual assistance under which takaful participants agree to contribute to a common fund providing for mutual financial benefits payable to the takaful participants or their beneficiaries on the occurrence of pre-agreed events. Its operational model is based on equity, justice, goodness, cooperation and avoidance of any act, operation, service or product that contravenes the teachings of the Shari’ah.

“It provides an alternative to Muslims to protect their wealth and get the benefit of underwriting and investments offered by conventional insurance free from the prohibitions of interest-based transactions and excessive uncertainty that do exist in conventional insurance. So, it separates the grain from the chaff. An added value proposition of Takaful is the concept and practice of distribution of surplus, which we are witnessing today by Noor Takaful Insurance.

“This practice is non-existent in conventional insurance, which makes Takaful very advantageous to its patronisers. You do not have to be a Muslim to patronise Takaful. Takaful is an alternative to conventional insurance and it complements it to all classes of clients, without discrimination,” he maintained.

Former Commissioner for Insurance, Mohammed Kari,  further attested to the benefits of Takaful Insurance.

Congratulating Noor and participants who received surplus, he testified that he was one of the customers who received surplus.

He urged Nigerians to key into Takaful insurance as it is highly beneficial.

The Chairman, Noor Takaful, Muhtar Bakare said the company would for the third year be distributing surplus (cashback) payment worth over N36 million to policyholders who did not make claims, in line with its commitment to promoting ethical insurance in Nigeria.

He said the surplus payment, which comes as a result of the Win-Win model of insurance operated by Noor takaful – an indigenous insurance company licensed by the NAICOM in 2016 thrives on the pool of funds provided by the participants.Takaful is the non-interest finance insurance that seeks to serve a large market of uninsured Nigerians spread across various parts of the country.

He added that the company has also launched a new product targeted at serving the varying insurance needs of its customers most especially in the retail market.

At the event, a total of 621 policyholders also known as participants, which include individuals, private and public organisations, banks and higher institutions of learning, received the surplus payment.

Some of the customers who received the highest amount Joint Admissions Matriculation Board (JAMB), which got over N2 million, Sterling Bank N2 million, Engee Pet Manufacturing N1.13 million, BUA Group N476,000 and NASFAT N77, 322.

Other customers include Engee Pet Manufacturing Limited, Kano Agric Supply, Modibbo Adama University – Yola, Jaiz Bank.

Leadway Health has promised to improve and foster access to quality health and wel-being solutions to Nigerians.

The company believes this will grow the health sector and the Health Maintenance Organisation (HMO) ecosystem by 30 per cent in five years.

The company unveiled a range of superior and robust healthcare service offerings to enable the projected growth.

The Chief Executive Officer, Leadway Health, Dr Tokunbo Alli, at the unveiling in Lagos, stated that the introduction of Leadway Health would serve as a disruption and an exceptional redefinition of the delivery of reliable and affordable health care to the public.

He said: “According to the National Health Insurance Scheme, more than 190 million Nigerians are still paying out-of-pocket to access medical services, forcing individuals, businesses and households to incur enormous and usually unplanned health expenditures. This is an unnecessary, unsustainable and costly means to accessing quality healthcare services. With the introduction of Leadway Health Limited, our range of solutions would help bridge the gap in providing quality, accessible, and affordable health services to Nigerians. We are confident in a healthcare system that genuinely cares for your health, your wealth and more.

“With nationwide coverage and seamless healthcare service on-the-go backed by a high-tech Artificial Intelligence (AI) application, quality customer service delivery that enables convenient access and smooth 24/7 support from a team of experienced and thoroughbred professionals, there is no doubt that our customers are assured of disruptive healthcare services and an exceptional delivery experience.

“As a leading pioneer of one of the most comprehensive West African Third-Party Administration and registered health maintenance organisation under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), our partnership with over 1,500 health providers and diverse range of bespoke corporate, retail and international products allows us to extend health insurance penetration to millions of Nigerians and Africa at large. We, therefore, enjoin individuals, families, business owners and corporates alike to come on board and experience healthcare delivery tailor-made to suit their specific needs”, he added.

Leadway Health’s superior product offerings include advanced telemedicine, health enrollee app that allows authorisation of care by enrollees, digital health tracking, access to financial and family counselling and geo-location capabilities for hospitals, pharmacy benefit program that involves genuine drugs from manufacturers delivered to the home/office for those with chronic ailments, employee assistance program to promote mental health, medical concierge services, preventive health programs that includes baby wellness programs, access to fitness and nutritional stores, customized health tips, talks and newsletters across all age groups with a unique reward system to encourage and promote general wellness amongst others.

Leadway Health is affiliated to Leadway Assurance Company, one of Nigeria’s largest insurers.