The Nation Newspaper

Category: Insurance

  • NCRIB honours Braithwaite, Ogunlana

    The Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) has honoured two insurance guru the late Mr Talabi Adebayo Braithwaite and Pa Olabode Ogunlana for their contributions to the industry.

    Braithwaite was the first chartered insurer in the country and the first to become a member of Lloyds in the United Kingdom. He was also NCRIB’s pioneer President.

    Ogunlana, on the other hand, is the first indigenous Managing Director of the defunct National Insurance Corporation (NICON) whose leadership paved the way for other MDs and leaders of the industry. His leadership made NICON Insurance the breeding ground for many quality insurance professionals that the country has produced till date.

    Speaking at the event titled: “Celebrating our heroes”, NCRIB President, Mr Shola Tinubu said it was the inaugural edition of celebrating leaders who had brought insurance image to the front burner of national and international reckoning.

    He believed that the initiative would serve as a tonic for the up-coming generation by invoking in them the spirit of sacrifice and conscientious devotion to duties, bearing in mind that their efforts would never be forgotten.

    Eighty-Six-year-old Ogunlana, who is also the Chairman of Scib Insurance Brokers, urged members of the Council to serve with passion.

    He said leaders of NCRIB need to pass on the torches of knowledge and skills for the good of the industry.

    He said: “You are called upon to engage in seriously tutoring – real teaching. The benefits of such tutoring will extend beyond the trainees, their companies, the insureds, the clients and the insuring public are also joint beneficiaries. The spiraling effect of the teaching is yet another good reason. You must teach and mentor constantly as well as pass on the skills and knowledge you possess to those coming after you which is what I did.

    “Unless and until you have done this, the insurance industry will not make any meaningful impact on Nigeria socially and economically. NCRIB like all the other arms of the Industry needs more actions than mere talks, meetings and conferences. Go out there, explain to Nigerians why their lives and corporate existence need insurance. Go out and sell not only to increase your profits but to improve the welfare of Nigerians and the well-being of Nigeria.

    “Brokers are not just intermediaries with the responsibility of ensuring thorough understanding of the seemingly unintelligible policy conditions by the public; in addition they are required to promote good relationship between insurers and the insuring public. They are the essential bridge between and should facilitate seamless relations within various sectors of the industry, The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) inclusive, to ensure effective delivery of customer satisfaction,” he added.

  • Recap plan: AXA Mansard, Allianz, others beat deadline

    Many companies have met the August 20 deadline set by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) to submit their recapitalisation plans, The Nation has learnt.

    AXA Mansard Insurance Plc, Allianz Nigeria Insurance Plc, SUNU Assurances Plc, FBNInsurance, NEM Insurance Plc, Cornerstone Insurance Plc,  LASACO Assurance, AIICO Insurance Plc and Mutual Benefit Assurance Plc met the deadline.

    Leadway Assurance, on the other hand, already has more than the required capital and may not submit submit a new plan to the commission, it was gathered.

    Deputy Director and Head of Corporate Communication, NAICOM, Rasaaq Salami, in an interview, said majority of the firms had submitted their plan.

    He noted with satisfaction the rate of compliance, saying that it indicated that  the companies understood what the import of recapitalisation.

    ‘’There is compliance by the companies and the Commission knows their plans. The next step for us is to  review what they have submitted,’’  he added.

    NAICOM, on July 23, mandated insurance and reinsurance firms to submit their recapitalisation plans to the Commission on or before August 20, 2019.The companies are required to increase their share capital not later than June 30, 2020. Going by this, the minimum paid-up share capital of a Life, Non-Life and Composite insurance companies, including re-insurance companies will be N8 billion, N10 billion, N18 billion and N20 billion respectively, from N2 billion, N3 billion, N5 billion and N10 billion.

    The commission said: “Insurers and Reinsurers shall submit their recapitalisation plan to the Commission on or before 20th August, 2019. The plan should include among others a capital status of the Company based on the above referenced circular as at the last Audited Financial Statements; Board resolution on how to comply with the directives; and Detailed action plan on how the funds for the recapitalisation are to be sourced with timelines and deliverables.

    “Also, companies intending to seek funds from the capital markets are required to submit their plan of action on a file-and-use basis while companies that intend to merge or acquire another should submit their proposal after which they must comply with Sections 30 and 31 of the Insurance Act 2003.

    “The commission shall review and provide responses on the submitted recapitalisation plans on or before September 17, 2019. The review may require meeting with the Board and Management of each of the insurance company on its recapitalisation plan.

    Similarly, the Commission is engaging with other regulatory bodies for possible palliatives in addition to those being considered by the Commission,” the commission added.

  • NSIA shareholders get N1.45 dividend

    Shareholders of NSIA Insurance have approved a dividend payment of 1.45k per share for the 2018 financial year.

    The underwriting firm’s Total Revenue from operations increased by 27 per cent from N5.46 billion in 2017 to N6.91 billion in 2018 while Total Assets for the year ended 2018 increased by 15 per cent to N17.92 billion compared to N15.57 billion reported for the year ended December 31, 2017.

    On the other hand, Profit Before Tax (PBT) improved significantly by 39 per cent to N892.29 million in 2018 from N640.75 million reported in 2017, while Profit After Tax (PAT) improved significantly by 67 per cent to N670.45 million in 2018 from N402.35 million reported in 2017.

    Read Also: Zenith Bank declares N9.42b interim dividend

    The Gross Premium Income for the company increased by 16 per cent to N6.3 billion in 2018 from N5.48 billion reported in 2017, while the Net Premium Income improved by 25 per cent to N3.16 billion in 2018 from N2.54 billion reported for the year ended December 31, 2017.

    There was also an improvement in the earnings per share with a 75 per cent jump to 7k in 2018 from 4k in 2017.

    Addressing shareholders at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the company, its Chairman, Ituah Ighodalo said NSIA Insurance had made good its promise of maximising the returns of its shareholders’ investments in the business, lending credence to the company’s values of integrity, care, innovation and professionalism.

  • ‘NAICOM’ll prosecute recapitalisation’

    The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) said it will prosecute the recapitalisation holistically and in quick succession.

    Its new Acting Commissioner for Insurance, Mr Sunday Thomas, who spoke with reporters in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State said as an agency of the Federal Government, the Commission to improve on its contributions to the economy.

    He stated that the  idea of the exercise is to have an insurance industry that is strong and diligent in carrying out its assignments.

    He further said the Commission will ensure the industry is highly liquid in terms of claims settlement, solid in terms of assets and visible in terms of retaining business within the country.

    He stressed the need for the operators to cooperate with the regulator for the industry to be counted among the sectors contributing meaningfully to the economy.

    He said: “We believe that at the end of the exercise, we would have turn around the image of the market. As an agency of the Federal Government, more than ever before, NAICOM wants to be visible, while also doing everything within its terms of reference as an institution to improve on its contributions to the economy. We have the mandate to ensure that the exercise throws up very solid companies.

    “The insurance sector wants to be part of the big game and the driver of that initiative has to be the regulator. The issue of recapitalisation is more critical than ever before. Of course there are shades of opinion about its adequacy, it’s timing.  But for me here, it is just to tell you that the work ahead is a whole lot more than you can ever imagine.

    “The whole idea of this recapitalisation exercise is to have an industry that is strong, that is diligent in prosecution of its assignments. It is important for you to know that our arms are open for investors either into companies or a totally new company. I’ll not stand in front of you to tell you we are perfect in every area but I can tell you that we are striving towards perfection and I know that it is attainable.

    “We need the full cooperation of our development partners and other stakeholders like shareholders represented by board of directors, staff of operating companies and other regulators. We are engaging other regulators for possible cooperation for the success of the exercise,” he said.

  • FBN General Insurance settles N902m claims

    FBN General Insurance Limited, a subsidiary of FBNInsurance Limited,  paid N902 million as claims last year as against N861 million paid the previous year.

    Its Chairman, Gbenga Shobo, who spoke at the company’s Annual General Meeting (AGM)  in Lagos, said the company’s cardinal focus, among others, remains to pay claims promptly.

    The company’s Gross Premium Written (GPW) for the year rose to N4.63 million, achieving a year-on-year (YoY) growth of 32 per cent from the corresponding performance of N3.51 billion achieved in 2017. He said the company’s Profit Before Tax (PBT) also increased by 91 per cent to N615.6m from N322.8million posted in the preceding year.

    During the period under review, the company grew its total assets by 31 per cent from N7.24 billion in 2017 to N9.45 billion in 2018, realising a significant improvement in capital efficiency just as it nurtures robust liquidity and solvency margin above the required benchmark.

    Also, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Bode Opadokun said: “While we anticipate an improved operating economy, one of our strategic initiative for the year 2019 includes the implementation of our value added service, ClaimsAlert Service designed to provide a responsive service to all our esteemed Comprehensive Auto Insurance policyholders who have been involved in an accident within the Lagos Metropolis where the service is active.”

  • AXA Mansard grows half-year funds to N22.5b

    AXA Mansard Insurance Plc has grown its shareholders’ funds in its unaudited financial results for the period ended June 30, 2019 to N18.2 billion up from N16.7 billion as at last December.

    The underwriting firm’s total assets also increased by 14 per cent to N81.24 billion in the half-year under review from N73.77 billion as at December 2018.

    The firm also posted a gross written premium of N29.36 billion up by 25 per cent from N23.54 billion in June 2018.

    The firm recorded net premium income of N12.08 billion, up 26 per cent from N9.56 billion in June 2018, investment and other income of N2.84 billion, down 13 per cent from N3.28 billion in June 2018 billion while operating expenses of N3.52 billion, remain flat from N3.52 billion in June 2018.

    Meanwhile, Profit before Tax of N1.57 billion, down 16 per cent from N1.87 billion recorded in June 2018.

    Commenting on the results in a statement, its Chief Financial Officer, Mrs. Ngozi Ola-Israel said during the period under review, top line grew (gross written premium) by 25 per cent and underwriting profits by nine per cent with no growth in operating expenses compared to last year.

    This positive performance according to her is an indication that managment’s efforts to continually grow the business profitably is on track. “However, our profit after tax dipped by eight per cent driven by one off loss on the sale of part of our investment property,” she said.

    Also commenting on the company’s financials, its Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Kunle Ahmed said: “Prompt claims payment remains critical to the actualisation of insurance companies’ promise to return clients to their pre-loss financial position. The group closed with gross claims payment of N6.8billion to various clients, attesting to our well tested commitment to meeting our obligations to our customers.

    “The group closed with shareholders’ fund of N22.5 billion, representing a growth of eight per cent from our position as at the end of 2018.”

    continue to operate as a composite insurance company, delivering service to our teeming customers across both general and life businesses”, he added.

     

  • Swiss Re: 42% of $44b global half-year losses insured

    Natural catastrophes and man-made disasters in the first half of 2019 were responsible for $44 billion of economic losses globally, according to Swiss Re Institute’s preliminary sigma estimates.

    This figure is well below $109 billion, the average first-half economic losses of the previous one decade. It is also lower than the losses of $51 billion reported for the same period a year earlier.

    Of the total global economic losses in the first half of this year, about 42per cent or $19 billion were covered by insurance, the main driver being thunderstorms and flooding events in different parts of the world. More than 5,000 people lost their lives or went missing in disaster events during the period.

    Of the $$44 billion in total global economic losses, natural catastrophes accounted for the majority, or $40 billion in the first half of 2019, compared with $45 billion in the previous year. The remaining  $4 billion of losses were caused by man-made disasters. Global insured losses from natural catastrophes dipped to  $15 billion from  $21 billion the year before, while insured losses from man-made disasters decreased to $4 billion from $5 billion.

    Only about 42 per cent of the global economic losses were insured (compared with 52 per cent in the first half of 2018) as several large-scale disaster events, such as cyclone Idai in southern Africa and cyclone Fani in India, occurred in areas with low insurance penetration. Cyclone Idai, which caused strong winds and severe flooding across Mozambique, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Madagascar, was the deadliest natural catastrophe in the first half of this year, claiming more than 1 000 victims. Economic losses from cyclone Idai are estimated at least at $2 billion, of which only about seven per cent were insured.

    Head of Catastrophe Perils at Swiss Re,  Martin Bertogg, said: “The experience of the first half of this year has once again exposed the existing protection gap issues in emerging countries. For example, cyclone Idai showed just how fragile African coastal communities are. And in India, cyclone Fani inflicted widespread damage and large uninsured losses. Similarly, the nature and location of the events underline the theme of secondary perils taking a larger share of the overall loss burden, as we analysed in more detail in our last catastrophe sigma.”

    Secondary perils such as thunderstorms, torrential rains and snowmelt caused the highest losses through wind and water damage in the first half of 2019 in many regions of the world, including the U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia, China and Iran. Swiss Re Institute’s sigma estimates the total economic losses of these events at $32 billion. Approximately $13 billion of these losses were insured.

    As in the first half of last year, several parts of the world also experienced heatwaves and dry weather conditions this year, with temperature records broken in several locations, particularly in Europe. The full impact of the extreme summer weather is yet to be determined.

    Bertogg said: “Intense heatwaves and dry spells of the like we’ve seen over the last few years are expected to become more frequent, exacerbating the conditions conducive to wildfires and agriculture losses.”

    We also expect more variable rain patterns, as rising temperatures load the atmosphere with more vapour. Society will need to adapt and prepare for these increasing occurrences.”

     

  • NAICOM: insurers lose N41.7b business to foreign firms

    Insurance firms have ceded businesses worth  $115.74 million (about N41.7billion) abroad because of lack of financial and technical capacity, a report by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has shown.

    A breakdown of the lost deals include business of 11 multinationals and local firms abroad, holding only $45 million. This indicates that the firms ceded 72 per cent insurance business abroad. The development is against the implementation of the Local Content Law in the country.

    The total sum insured of the 11firms, however, amounts to  $160.7 million.

    The commission’s Director, Policy and Regulation, Mr Pius Agboola,  quoted the report to buttress the need for the industry’s recapitalisation policy at a seminar held for reporters in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State.

    Of the multinationals in  the report, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Chevron Nigeria Limited and Mobil Production Nigeria Limited’s business were the highest risks at 78 per cent, 75 per cent and 70 per cent.

    The breakdown of the report showed that NNPC’s type of risk, Consolidated Insurance Package of $99.58 billion sum insured, was shared at 78 per cent locally and 22 per cent abroad, amounting to $77.67 billion local and $21.91 billion abroad.

    Chevron Nigeria Limited’s type of risk, Energy Package Insurance sum insured stood at $14.31 billion with $10.73billion placed locally, and $3.57 billion abroad; Mobil Production NigeriaLimited, Energy Package/Physical Damage and O.E.E, sum insured stands at $14.09billion, $9.86 billion locally, $4.23 billion abroad; Lafarge HOICIM, Combined Property Damage/Business Interruption and Public Liability sum insured stood at$564.88 billion with $388.24 billion placed locally and $176.64 billion abroad.

    Also, Dangote Fertiliser,Construction/Erection, all risks and third party liability sum insured stands at $1.12 billion with $0.672 billion placed locally and $0.44 billion abroad; Sahara Power (Egbin Power Plc) (Combined Property Damage/MachineryBreakdown/Liability Terrorism/Political Violence cover Policy $3.17billion;$1.43billion, $1.74billion

    Hinson Production (Energy Package (Warand Terrorism Inclusive) $1.2billion, $484.8 million, $715.2 million. StarDeepWater Petroleum Limited (Energy Package) $3 billion, $2.25 billion, $750million. Dangote Refinery (Construction/Erection all risks,third party liability, Owners Plant Delay in Startups) $6.7 billion, $1.54 billion, $5.16billion

    Aviation Refueling, refueling Liability Insurance) $1 billion, $103million, $897 million and Centre forEnergy Research and Trainings Affiliated to Ahmadu Bello University (ThirdParty Nuclear Liability Insurance $7.01billion, $3.01 million and $6.97billion.

    The Acting Commissioner for Insurance, Mr. Sunday Thomas stated that the recapitalisation by the commission would lead to a boost in the system. He said the capital base of an underwriter is important.

    He noted that a large proportion of the local risks was ceded because of low retention capacity, hence the increase in capital base would increase the retention capacity of the underwriters.

  • WAPIC grows premium by 24%

    Wapic Insurance Plc’s Gross Written Premium (GWP) has increased by 24 per cent to N8.7 billion. Last year, it was N6.9 billion.

    The growth was buoyed by sustained leadership status in some major accounts, attainment of increased market shares and enhanced underwriting capabilities.

    This was shown in the company’s unaudited results for the period ended June 30, 2019.

    The Group’s underwriting profit decreased slightly by 5 per cent year on year to N1.2 billion.This was impacted largely by growth in underwriting expenses for major businesses in the review period occasioned by the growth in the top line.

    The company’s cost optimisation measures paid off as expenses dropped by11 per cent to N2.1 billion, compared to the last’s N2.4 billion.

    The growth in profit before tax position for the Group was impressive at 67 per cent, closing at N401 million as at June , this year.

    One of the subsidiaries, Wapic Life Assurance Limited wrote N1.84 billion in GWP, a 48 per cent growth in premium performance from the figure written in June, last year of N1.25 billion.

    The Managing Director of WAPIC Insurance Plc., Mrs. Yinka Adekoya, said: “Our Group’s financial performance in the first half of the year is largely in line with our growth expectations and strategic aspirations.

    “Within the first half of the year, precisely in May, the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) announced a major increase across board in the minimum paid-up share capital of insurance and reinsurance operators in the country.”

    “For Wapic, our general insurance business is adequately capitalised for the new MCR while measures are already in place for the Life subsidiary to be fully capitalised before the June 2020 deadline,” she added.

     

  • Allianz Nigeria pays N3m bonus to about 100 customers

    Allianz Nigeria has been paying 15 per cent premium cashback bonus to clients who do not have a claim after insuring for 24 months in a row, Executive Director, Owolabi Salami has said.

    Salami stated that the company has in the first half of the year alone, paid cashback bonus of N3 million to nearly 100 customers.

    Accordingto him, this is yet another way the company endeavours to talk straight.

    He said the company writes a cheque or transfers the cash to the customer’s bank account, and does not request any obligation from the customer.

    He stressed that the Allianz Group is one of the world’s leading insurers and asset managers with more than 92 million retail and corporate customers. Allianz customers benefit from a broad range of personal and corporate insurance services, ranging from Property, Life and Health insurance to Assistance services to Credit insurance and Global Business insurance.

    Head of Customer Experience, Allianz Nigeria, Uti Ellu added that the company appears to be getting it right with the retail segment of the market, as they now score an 80 per cent satisfaction level based on ratings by over 1,000 retail customers.