Category: Insurance

By Omobola Tolu-Kusimo

WAICA Reinsurance Corporation Plc has grown its gross premium from S35,000 in 2011 to S103 million in 2020, the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr. Abiola Ekundayo, has said.

Ekundayo, in a statement, stated that despite the COVID–19 challenges last year, the company grew by about 50 per cent.

He maintained that the performance made WAICA Re one of the fastest-growing reinsurance companies in African. He said: “Today, it has grown into a group. We have continued to expand throughout Africa and beyond, with four regional offices located in Nigeria, Ghana, Tunisia, and Ivory Coast.

“Also, we have four subsidiaries: WAICA Re (UK) Limited, WAICA Re Zimbabwe (Private) Ltd, WAICA Re Capital Limited (Ghana) and WAICA Re (Kenya) Limited.”

Assessing reinsurance business on the African continent, he said: “Reinsurance in Africa is on a steady growth path despite the turbulence created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The top 10 reinsurance players still control a significant share of the market.

“There have been improvements in local content; however, significant large risk exposures in engineering, oil and gas are still ferried to non-domestic reinsurers.”

He said there had been a continued shift in building capacity as major players have conferences, academies, training and competitions were tailored to skill enhancement.

“Reinsurance companies should focus more on emerging risks such as: political risks, terrorism, cyber security, artificial intelligence, among others. Finally, African reinsurers need to invest and leverage technology in driving their businesses. Supports for insurtech is the way to go,” he added.

 

By Omobola Tolu-Kusimo

Bickering in the industry on the aborted Insurers Committee meeting would soon end as the Committee would soon be reactivated, The Nation has learnt.

The Insurers Committee birthed by the regulatory authority, the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), is similar to Banker’s Committee.

It consists of NAICOM and chief executive officers of underwriting insurance companies in Nigeria.

The Committee, which operated under a mandate to activate the industry’s change agenda, and strategically reposition the industry, was inaugurated on November 19, 2015 by the then Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun.

The committee suffered a setback  over internal wranglings between the insurers and the NAICOM, when the latter mandated insurance firms to recapitalise.

The  then Vice Chairman, Sub-Committee Publicity, Mrs Ebelechukwu Nwachukwu, said they would rebrand the industry, deepened insurance penetration and ensure better service delivery.

One of the CEOs, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the committee was divided into seven sub-committees to enable them achieve their goal of repositioning the industry.

He said the commission refused to reconvene the meeting since the issue of recapitalisation occurred, thereby killing the meeting.

“We need to go back to the committee for a better industry, he said.

But the Commissioner for Insurance, Mr. Sunday Olorundare Thomas at the NAICOM seminar for reporters debunked claims that the   committee was set aside.

He stressed that the commission could not have done that since the initiative ws its own.

He said he had met with the leadership of the NIA on how to restore the committee.

Thomas noted that both parties would soon begin their meetings.

The commissioner, however, implored operators to increase the budget on publicity as the level of insurance awareness is still relatively low in the country.

He stressed that insurance remains one of the bedrocks of  growth, noting that people need to be aware of its importance to enable them maximise its benefits.

He said continuous publicity was required to entrench insurance, adding that operators should make adequate budgetary provisions for creation of awareness on the enormous benefits derivable from insurance.

 

By Omobola Tolu-Kusimo

The Nigeria Insurance Association (NIA) has expelled the three troubled companies, Niger, IGI and Standard Alliance.

Sources said the implication of the expulsion is that the association would not advise the government, private entities and individuals  against dealing with the companies.

Consequently, the companies will not be able to participate in the Federal Government’s group life insurance policy and other businesses as the NIA would not issue them letters of membership, a requirement for securing big businesses in the sector.

NIA Chairman, Mr. Ganiyu Musa had, while briefing reporters on developments in the association in the last month, stated that it had been doing some house cleaning by beaming its searchlight on member companies who had failed to pay genuine claims to the insured.

He said they had focused a lot on discipline among their members.

“We have to be very harsh. We have an active committee on discipline and conflict resolution. The committee has been strengthened and empowered. We go beyond the usual refrain or chastisement to taking active steps to discipline erring members. We have a few of our members that have been suspended and some are about to be expelled. In a few weeks when the processes are completed, we will release the names of the erring companies to the public.

“We believe it is very important to send the message to our members, that when you carry the NIA badge, it should count for something. There is no amount of marketing that you can do, if the experience of the insuring public is bad, then we cannot make progress in the industry. We believe that after cleansing ourself of bad image, we can go back to the public to say, ‘all the good things that insurance stands for’ ”, he added.

Reacting to the expulsion, IGI Spokesman Steve Ilo said it was not true that the three firms had been expelled.

He said:  ‘’Yes, it is true that the NIA received complaints from their clients against them, but they have since resolved it.’’

The only issue, according to him, is on reconciliation as NIA refused to remove the claims that they have paid from their record.

“We also had a problem on reconciliation of our membership subscription that we are meant to pay which we are about to do,’’ he noted.

Divisional Head, Human Capital Management/Administration, Richard Ohoreoghene of Standard Alliance did not respond to messages asking for his reaction as at press time.

Niger Managing Director, Edwin Igbiti also did not respond to the expulsion claim as at press time.

By Omobola Tolu-Kusimo

The insurance industry recorded a gross written premium of N520 billion as at last December.

A breakdown at the weekend showed that insurance policies held by individuals stood at 1,034,383, corporate and non-individual policies 891, 128; total policies written 1,925,511; while penetration stood at at 0.72 per cent.

Deputy Director and Head, Corporate Communications & Market Development, National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) Salami Rasaaq said the commission has not been able to meet its target of getting operators to insure 800,000 Nigerians in 2010, 24 million in 2016 and 42 million in 2020.

He said the commission, which had the targets as part of its market development and restructuring initiative (MDRI) goals launched in 2009, was also not able to achieve its N1 trillion gross written premium target of the insurance industry.

He said the commission’s plan is to achieve 10 per cent penetration; N1.5 trillion gross written premium and 10 per cent increase in insurance density.

To make progress in these areas, Rassaq said the commission plans to work with Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) cohorts across geo-political zones.

Most importantly, the commission aims to build trust among the insured leading to more referrals; build confidence in the sector by reducing incidences of fake insurance and implementing penalty for nonpayment of claims; and work with digital companies with access to data and information for wider reach and impact

He explained that the commission launched MDRI in 2009 as a vehicle to, among others, drive enforcement of compulsory insurances, reduce incidences of fake insurance and in the process grow the industry.

He further stated that the commission’s strategic focus is on compulsory insurances, government assets, microinsurance and takaful insurance.

“Target market however is Government, Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) and Millennials and Gen Z which make up 60 per cent of our population.

“Our strategic themes include increased awareness and education; stakeholder’ grooming/partnerships; high-impact media productions; and a social/digital NAICOM

“To increase awareness and education, we will also launch a joint implementation task force with police, FS, FRSC, Ministry of Justice, Mobile Courts, Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) at all levels, among others. We will hold insurance stakeholder’s forum/town hall meetings, launch the Insurance Industry Thought Leadership Series on Testimonials and Endorsements, among others”, Rasaaq said in a presentation entitled, “Market Development Drives of NAICOM: Initiatives and Prospects” at a seminar in Lagos.

 

The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) under Sunday Thomas has listed its achievements and cahllenges, Omobola Tolu-Kusimo writes.

 

The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has listed  its achievements under Commissioner for Insurance, Mr. Sunday Thomas, who was appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari one year ago.

The commission released its new plan for the next two years, tagged ‘2021-2023 Strategic Plan’.

The commissioner stated the commission had been engaging the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and that the sector would soon witness an increase in the oil and gas business.

He said a committee was working on the guideline that would make it mandatory and enforce the law on the local content and the linkages would be blocked.

“Our inter-regulatory cooperation is why we are able to work with the Nigerian content,’’ he said.

He also said life business  would also witness growth, following the signed guidelines between the commission and the National Pension Commission (PenCom) on group life insurance and life annuity business.

He said N9.2 billion has been set aside for 2021 to 2022 financial year for the group life of Federal Government agencies.

He said the life operations and non-life operations of the sector was expected to grow.

He noted that to ensure that the growth agenda was not taken by other markets across the world, the commission granted an application for a reinsurance company.

He said: “We know that the driver of the economy is the people at the lower level of the pyramid and, therefore, we are taking financial inclusion policy very seriously. While it is a national policy, the insurance sector is far behind but we are doing a lot of catch up. To this effect, two Takaful companies have been licensed in addition to the existing ones. We have four micro insurance company that has also been licensed and two are on the verge of being licensed. We believe that if we are able to properly take care of the supply side, the demand aspect of it is will run smoothly. Similarly, the traditional method of distributing insurance has become inadequate to take care of the speed we want to gain and the people who want to reach and so we must begin to develop other channels of distribution. There are few of them that have been developed and waiting for final touches here and there for them to be released.

“We are conscious of the fact that the sector is a knowledge-based sector and, therefore, human capacity to drive this initiative is critical. The development in the actuarial profession has been on the drawing board for years. The first sets of those who will write the actuarial exam will qualify as certified actuarial analyst. The exam was held last week and I was made to understand that in the next six weeks or so, they will hear the results. We have made a pledge to see the possibility of having about 100 of them in the next four years. It’s a target and we see how far we can go. We believe that we need actuarial analyst to stand in the gap pending the time that we will have sufficient number of actuaries for the market.

“I want to say that we are also conscious that technology drives business. We have started with ourselves at the commission and our automation plans have commenced. We want to see how far we can run within the commission. The plan by the commission to have a portal started about now nine to 10 years ago and until last year, nothing was happening. But we picked it up last year and the first phase of the portal has been successfully completed. On the strategic plan of the commission, the last one ended in 2020. So, we have picked it up from 2021 to 2023. We are following and pursuing it. We believe that with what we have in the plan, we should be able to make a difference in the market.’’

He continued: “One of the a low-hanging fruit is the government business. We know that a lot of government businesses, especially at the states are far from experiencing the benefits of insurance. We want to be engaging the states so that we can draw them closer and bring the consciousness of the benefits of insurance to their doorstep.To this effect, we are committed, especially to the Federal Government agencies, getting the concurrence of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Musa Bello for a guideline that will make it mandatory for agencies to make adequate provision for the insurances. At present, the sum of about N9.2 billion has been set aside for group life of the 2021 to 2022 financial year of Federal Government agencies.

“Companies don’t fail on their own, people make companies to fail. The death of companies most of the time evolve from poor governance structure.Therefore, we are aware, that effective from June 1, the corporate governance guidelines have become effective. This is to make sure that whatever resources that is put in the insurance sector is well protected.

“On capitalisation, what we are doing beyond what has been done is that Risk-Based Supervision (RBS) has become a reality. It’s been in the works for a long time and we have been waiting for it’s taking off. I am happy to announce to you that all that is needed to be done in respect to the RBS has been so substantially done. In one or two months, the first set of risk-based supervision in the market will take off. The relevant persons have been trained, necessary skills have been acquired, instruments that will enable implementation have been developed.”’

On the Consolidated Insurance Bill, he said a lot of work had been done and that by the following week, the commission would be having an engagement with the National Assembly to look at the draft bill.

One area, he said, that we had not gained speed is in the Academy. He however said a property had been allocated to it and that it  and that it was being developed.

He said by the end of third quarter or the fourth quarter of this year, the insurance academy would take off.

On backward integration, he said:  ‘’We have been assisting a lot of institutions to develop their actuarial and insurance programmes. We are leading the integration within the West African region. We are familiar with African Continental Trade Free Zone. At present, I am going to be chairing the West African Association of Insurance Supervisors. We are leading in integration of procedure practices and the first thing we are about to do is to establish the insurance college. This is not a school but the coordination of insurance supervisory college across the West African Coast.

“The enforcement of compulsory insurances is also on. Last week, we played host to the Corp Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps. About a month ago, we were with the FCT minister and two weeks ago the Minister of Road Transport, Mrs. Gbemisola Saraki was with us in the commission. We have been trying to engage across the country. We visited the Governor of Ekiti State and we were to visit the Governor of Enugu State but for the prevailing security issues that happened there recently. The fire service management was in our office two weeks ago. This is some of the engagements that we have been having because we are determined to make a difference. We want to encourage our operators to increase their budgets in publicity. We are too far behind because not much of insurance is known. The regulator will do its bit but the operators must cooperate with us for all of us to be on the same page.”

Thomas, however, noted that while a lot had been achieved, there was still much more to be done.

 

Prestige Assurance Plc has planned for a new capital raise of N3.374 billion to enable it meet capitalisation requirements of N10 billion set for companies in its category.

This this is despite that the exercise is on hold following a court order.

The underwriting company, which has completed a rights issue during the past year, is having about N6.62 billion capitalisation.

Prestige, a composite insurer,  would require N10 billion paid up share capital to meet the requirement of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), if the recapitalisation was called up gain.

Meanwhile, the Board of Directors, at the company’s Annual General Meeting held in Lagos in compliance with COVID-19 directives secured the approval of the shareholders to raise fresh funds.

The approval, which was part of the special business at the meeting reads: “That the directors be and are hereby authorised to raise additional capital of up to N3, 373, 719, 056 only, via the issuance of ordinary shares by way of private placements, public offer, rights issue, mergers and acquisition, or a combination of any of these options at a price, terms and conditions to be determined …”

The Chairman, Adedoyin Salami, who spoke at the AGM,  doused shareholders apprehension on mergers and acquisition option, stating that the directors had chosen to have the recapitalisation options to ensure that the company was not caught in the web.

However, he assured the shareholders that any decision taken by the board would be in their best interest.

The company also gave a dividend payout of 2.5kobo, representing N331.3 million for the 2020 financial year, which was appreciated by the shareholders.

The shareholders lauded the company for being able to pay dividend in the year despite the pandemic.

The company however recorded a gross premium income of N7.01 billion, against N6.13 billion in 2019, a 14.36 percent increase.

Profit for the year was N678.31 billion, a 57.08 percent increase from N431.83 billion in 2019, and these improved results, according to Salami, demonstrates both strength and potential of the company.

The underwriter also grew its total assets to N18.51 billion, from N13.18 billion in the previous year, while shareholders fund rose from N8.45 billion in 2019 to N12.41 billion.

Salami stated that innovation and efficiency gains would be the key pillars around which they seek to raise their game in near future.

 

Leadway Assurance Company Limited has partnered  the Association of Parents of Private School Students (APPSS) to launch an education insurance policy plan tagged the Group Education Protection Plan (GEPP).

Head, Life Retail, Leadway Assurance, Bolorunduro Saliu, in a statement, said the plan was launched at an event hosted at Eliud International School in Port Harcourt, the Rivers state capital.

It is designed to help parents protect their children’s future from   disruptions due to unplanned or unforeseen events, such as the death of a parent or guardian, life-threatening critical illness, total and permanent disability resulting from personal accidents.

With this partnership, he said the parents were guaranteed the fulfilment of bequeathing their children quality and life-defining education.

According to him, the unique alliance mandates Leadway to assume the payment of the children’s fees for the agreed remaining school terms from the point the sponsoring parent or guardian dies or contracts a critical illness or disability.

He said: “This policy reflects the organisation’s proactive steps towards mitigating the risk parents face from failing to achieve their dream of bequeathing quality education to their children due to circumstances that are beyond their control, especially death or permanent disability.

“We are pleased to work with a forward-looking association that is keen to proactively take smart financial decisions for their children’s assured future.  Our partnership with APPSS provides every parent under the association the assurance that should the most unnerving life situation occur, there is guaranteed peace of mind regarding the completion of your child’s education.

“The intention of this policy is to have a solution that protects the parents which in turn protects the education of their children in case of any eventuality. This product is designed to provide an actionable and affordable solution to ensuring that our children, being the future of the society, have proactive measures put in place to ensure that their journey to greatness is not halted abruptly.”

 

National President, APPSS, Dr Ovy Chukwuma on his part said, “Leadway has magnanimously created this programme at a very affordable premium and high sum assured to cater for the payment of fees for children in private schools nationwide from Nursery to Secondary Levels.

 

“The programme is designed to be driven by our Children Education Promotion and Protection Ambassadors (CEPPA), a project to provide parents, schools, and society at large an opportunity to be involved in the process of quality children education delivery in the country. The GEPP partnership was officially inaugurated on Thursday, May 27, 2021, in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, commemorating this year’s Children’s Day”, he noted.

By Omobola Tolu-Kusimo

The future of partisan politics and governance would be brighter if professionals are given the pride of place.

Bashorun J. K. Randle made the submission at the Fellows Day/Induction of The Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) in Lagos.

Speaking on the theme: “Adding value”, Randle, a past President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), said training and subscription to continuous knowledge by professionals might dispose them to discipline and good judgment.

This, he said, could be deployed in running the nation for sustainable progress. He lamented that the challenges confronting partisan politics, economy and other facets of the nation would not have defiled solutions, if professionals could ensure they add value where they are positioned.

He, however, urged the new Fellows to take initiatives that would result in value-adding, not only to the Council, but also to the nation, stressing that they should see their elevation as an opportunity to serve.

Meanwhile, NCRIB has admitted the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu,and his Enugu State counterpart, Mr. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi into the highest professional cadre of the Council.

The admission of Sanwo-Olu and Ugwuanyi into the cadre of the Council as Honorary Fellows was in recognition of their contributions to nation building as well as their support for professional bodies.

Similarly, the Council admitted the Chairman, House Representatives Committee on Insurance and Actuarial Matters, Hon Nwokocha Darlington and the Commissioner for Insurance, Mr. Sunday Thomas as Honorary Fellows.

Also admitted into the Fellowship cadre of the Council were 39  professional members of the Council.

The admission of the new Fellows at the Fellows Day/Induction held in Lagos amid strict compliance with COVID-19 safety protocols swelled the number of Fellows of the Council to 139.

The Council’s President, Mrs. Bola Onigbogi, enjoined the new Fellows to adhere to the ethics of the profession to protect the dignity of the professional body and rights of the insur publics.

Mrs. Onigbogi urged them to ensure that standards were being upheld and that they should remain good ambassadors of the industry, particularly, the broking profession.

According to her, admission into the prestigious cadre behoves on  the admitted members the responsibilities to shun vices that could bring the name of the Council in disrepute.

She urged them to participate in  the Council’s activities as membership of the Fellowship cadre is subject to review.

 

By Omobola Tolu-Kusimo

Shareholders of Linkage Assurance Plc have commended the Board and Management for the company’s performance in 2020 despite challenges posed by COVID-19 pandemic.

The shareholders, who spoke with excitement during the company’s 27th Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos, applauded the company leadership for the dividend and bonus in a year that capacity and strength of businesses managers were tested.

National Leader, Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Sir Sunny Nwosu; Chairman, Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Boniface Okezie; Shareholder, Nona Awoh; President, Noble Shareholders Association, Mathew Akinlade, among others, noted that the decision of the company to pay dividend and bonus issue at this critical time underscores the value it attaches to her investors.

They also noted that this is despite  that the industry was going through a recapitalisation, and requiring more money to meet the regulatory requirement.

The meeting, which was hybrid, in compliance with the government COVID-19 restrictions, gave approval to capitalisation of N2 billion retained earnings for bonus issue of two shares for five shares held by members of the company; as well as dividend payout of N500 million, translating to 5kobo per share.

The company’s Chairman, Chief Joshua Fumudoh, responding to the shareholders on their recapitalisation plans, assured that Linkage Assurance had put in place strategies to recapitalise the company.

According to him, given the performance, and the capitalisation of N2 billion at this meeting, they were sure they would deliver the company when the recapitalisation came up again.

On the future, he said: “As we gradually commence recovery from the effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic, we will tread cautiously into 2021 in our risk acceptance and operations, in line with our strategic roadmap. We shall continue the repositioning strategy aimed at transforming your company to that desired position in the insurance market.

Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr Daniel Braie, explained that the company would continue to redefine its strategies to ensure better performance and increased value for the shareholders.

Braie said: “We will continue to refine our strategy in line with the political, economic, sociological, and technology changes in the industry, particularly with impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the business landscape.

“The company will continue to develop innovative products, alternative channels of distribution, and strategic initiatives that will enable us to achieve our corporate goal and objectives. With a medium-to-long term perceptive, we believe that we will benefit from growth with these initiatives. The on-going rebranding embarked upon by the company is also part of the strategic initiatives to re-position the company.

“Also, the company in its financial year 2020 result impressed the market, recording gross written premium of N8.3 billion, an increase of 28 percent YoY from N6.5 billion in 2019, while total assets also rose by 18 percent YoY in 2020 to N33.9 billion, compared to N28.7 billion in 2019. The company also witnessed significant improvement in other indices, with underwriting profit growing by 102 percent, from N0.4 billion in 2019 to N0.8 billion at the end of 2020.

“Its Profit Before Tax during the period under review was N2.5 billion, compared to N1.3 billion in 2019 representing 89 percent YoY growth, while Profit After Tax was N2.4 billion, increasing by 65 percent from N1.5 billion in 2019.”

By Omobola Tolu-Kusimo

Insurers are unhappy that the Federal Government is not assessing the free life insurance cover given by them to frontline health workers fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

The sector, among other palliatives, had last year, supported the Federal Government by providing N11 billion life insurance cover to the frontline health workers employed in the fight against COVID-19.

The cover was to enable families or named beneficiary of any medical doctor who died in the line of duty to claim N3 million; Pharmacists/nurses N2 million and others N1 million.

The premium, which is  N112.5million for the cover, was  paid by the  insurers in line with the principle of No Premium No Cover, the Commissioner for Insurance, Sunday Thomas, said, stressing that 19 life insurance firms were accredited to provide the cover.

According to him, the cover was for 12 months with effect from April 14, 2020 and that in case of any fatality, the relevant agencies of government will advise the lead underwriter – FBNInsurance Limited – who will make request for relevant documents needed for payment of the claim.

Chairman, Nigeria Insurers Association (NIA), Mr. Ganiyu Musa, during a briefing in Lagos expressed disappointment that insurance was still not as well known.

He said: “Not only did we donate N500 million to the Federal Government, we also offered free life insurance to 5000 of the front-line staff. It was meant for the medical doctors and other health care workers.They were properly insured. The premiums were paid and the document were handed over to the government. It’s sad even for us that they did not make any claim. We wanted to use it as a showcase the benefits of insurance and our industry.

“We did not pay any claim because the industry was not notified to the underwriters. If any claim was notified settlement would have been prompt. The issue with life policy is very straightforward. The basic documentation to support a debt claim is very simple.

So, it saddens us as an industry that we did not have an opportunity to leverage on that gesture. We are waiting to hear from them. As soon as we have any notification, it would be attended to. I hope they will take it up with other arms of government.’’