The Nation Newspaper

Category: Insurance

  • College of Insurance will alleviate human capital challenge, says Rector

    The College of Insurance and Financial Management will continue to alleviate human capital challenges of the Nigerian insurance industry. Its Rector, Dr. Yeside Oyetayo, who made this known at this year’s Graduation Ceremony of the College on Km 40 Lagos Ibadan Expressway, Asese Ogun State, said the college was graduating four students in the Diploma in insurance programme, who have  weathered the academic storm and fulfilled the requirements for the award of the Diploma.

    She said though the number of graduands was small, it was an evidence of the fact that they have in no way compromised on the standards for which the college is known.

    She said the college has however, intensified efforts that the number of enrollments is increased in the next academic session to ensure that it has a larger number of students that will graduate next year.

    She said the vision of the school is to become the College of Insurance of choice in Africa, providing insurance training of global standards to meet the industry’s present and future requirements.

    She said the College will be offering an international certificate in Inclusive Insurance in support of the financial inclusion policy of the government in the new year. The courses, according to her, will be offered in collaboration with the Impact Insurance Facility of the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

    She admonished graduands not to forget the ideals inculcated in them while at the College, emphasising the need for hard work and good morals.

    Chairman, Governing Board, Mr Sakiru Oyefeso, on his part, said the construction of the College multi-purpose hall would commence in the first quarter of next year.

    He lauded the Governing Council of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN) and the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) for their continuous support towards the overall development of the College.

  • CHI gets shareholders’ nod to raise N734.5m additional capital

    Consolidated Hallmark Insurance (CHI) Plc, has received its shareholders’ approval to raise N734.5million additional capital through private placement.

    The shareholders gave the nod to the Board of Directors at the company’s Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) called in Lagos for additional capital through private placement of 1,130,000,000 units at the price of 65 Kobo per share. This will bring N734.5 million to the coffers of the company.

    Its Chairman, Mr. Obinna Ekezie also sought formal approval of shareholders for the increase in authorised shares of the company from the current 10,billion units of 50 Kobo par value per share to 15billion through the creation of an additional five billion units, a request that was equally approved.

    With this, the firm’s Share Capital  will be increased from N5billion to N7.5billion.

    Ekezie said this was next in the series of the Board’s and Management’s proactive efforts  to boost the firm’s working capital and adequately position it as a leading player in the underwriting of big ticket insurance transactions, having successfully raised N500 million through the Rights Issue to existing shareholders of 1,000,000,000 units that was 108 per cent subscribed to during the last quarter of 2017, but concluded in the first quarter of this year.

    The firm’s Managing Director ,  who is also the current president of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN), Eddie Efekoha, said since insurance business is about capital, the raising of additional capital would allow the insurer to take more big ticket insurance transactions, thereby, increasing the profit portfolio of the company, as well as give good returns on investments to shareholders.

    Efekoha added that the future plans of the firm includes broadening its product offerings to take advantage of the on-going market development initiatives of the industry regulator and strengthening its technology in order to deepen its footprints in the retail market while delighting its existing corporate customers.

  • NAICOM to license NGOs, others to deepen penetration

    The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) is planning to license non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and market associations as other distribution channels to sell insurance and deepen penetration, its Commissioner Mohammed Kari, has said.

    This is aside the newly-introduced policy by the Commission, the State Insurance Producers (SIP), aimed at empowering states to sell insurance as agents.

    In an interview with reporters in Ibadan, Kari said the Commission was optimistic that the SIP policy would increase insurance penetration to about 300 per cent within two years.

    He chided insurance operators, especially brokers, who are averse to the Commission introducing more distribution channels to sell insurance in the industry.

    He said the operators should rather join the Commission to think of more channels to sell our business, noting that insurance was yet to get to the nooks and crannies of the country.

    He said the SIP policy would aid the enforcement of compulsory insurance and provide jobs across the country.

    He said the policy would also grow insurance contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and boost premium generation of the industry.

    He further disclosed that the Commission would open offices in all state capital to support the states, adding that the Commission would build 20 new offices before 12 months to cover the whole country.

    Kari said: “We should think of more channels to sell our business. We cannot continue to concentrate on only the ones we know like brokers and agents because they have exhausted their strength. They are only interested in corporate business.

    “Some insurance operators, too, are more comfortable doing corporate business. They don’t want to go to my village to convince anyone to insure. They said they don’t want to go to Maiduguri for instance because of Boko Haram and this is one of the reason why SIP has become very interesting to us.

    “The SIP has a juice and an incentive. The states are going to make Internally Generated Revenue (IGR). The good thing is that we are going to control what they are doing because they have been selling insurance illegally with insurance companies. But we will  control how insurance is sold in the states. And to support them, we will open offices in all state capital. Before 12 months, we would have covered the whole country and we will build 20 offices.

    “The biggest incentive to government to support this policy is that when they are licensed as an SIP, they will ensure of enforcement and also do their own local law to punish anybody who does not conform with our own law. Also, insurance companies must have offices there to get the business placed with them by the State. “

    Kari said the SIP would create employment and the economy would boom.

    “The SIP will create employment. Some landlords will get rent. You can imagine if every company we have  opens two or three additional branches. It will improve insurance coverage. People that don’t know insurance will see signboard and ask what do you do and this way, insurance companies will have new converts.

    “But, most importantly, they will be there to target other consumers other than the SIP. And because the state governments that will be generating IGR are there, employment will be created, companies will pay tax, people will go to the market and buy food and the economy will boom. It is going to be very likely produce almost 200 to 300 per cent increase in penetration within two years. We are also reviewing the other distribution channels. One of them is the NGOs and market associations. It will be huge,” he added.

  • Mutual Benefits develops talents with Badmington game

    Mutual Benefits provides an avenue for gifted youths to develop their talents, its Chairman Dr. Akin Ogunbiyi has said.

    He spoke at the Mutual Benefits National Badminton Championship Games held at the Mutual Benefits Badminton Hall, Police College, Ikeja.

    Ogunbiyi said the company’s support for the Badminton games was part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

    He stated that the Police Baton Basketball Club has also received immense support from the company.

    He said: ‘’The championship is a platform through which the company gives back to the society and nurture the game of Badminton. Youth Empowerment through the development of Sports has been a key focus of the company’s CSR activities.

    “This year’s championship features 20 more players over and above the 140 that participated last year. These include the champions from last year; Anuoluwapo Opeyori, a Lagos State player and Dorcas Adesokan of Ogun State, who emerged winners in the Men’s Singles and Ladies’ Singles. Two players, Sofiat Obanishola from Kwara State and Miracle of USIA from Delta State, also got scholarship awards during the competition. We look forward to celebrating this year’s champions.”

    He said the various youth empowerment programmes sponsored by Mutual Benefits include the 10th Biennial Nigeria Police Games in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where the company did not only provide sponsorship, but was also the official insurer of the games.

    “The maiden edition of the National Youth Games in Abuja, the Nigeria Rowing Canoe and Sailing Federation competitions. Twenty customised kayak boats and paddles were donated to the Rowing Canoe and Sailing Federation to boost its fleet and encourage participation among the youth across the nation. The Police Baton Basketball Club, has also received immense support from the company,” he noted.

    Badminton Federation of Nigeria President Frank Orbih added that the success of the championship derived from the collective effort of all who contributed their time, energy and resources to ensure that all went on smoothly.

  • NAICOM restructures, creates new directorates

    The Governing Board of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has approved the restructuring of the commission to accommodate three new directorates and state branch offices across the country.

    The commission in a statement by the Assistant Director, National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Rasaaq Salami, stated that the new structures brought the number of directorates in the Commission to nine.

    The Commission said the exercise was part of the efforts at repositioning the commission for better service delivery.

    The statement read: “The new Directorates include Commissioner for Insurance’ Directorate; Lagos Office; and Legal and Liquidation Directorate. The supervision and inspectorate directorates have been merged into one inspectorate directorate while the authorisation and policy directorate have been split into two separate directorates, namely policy and regulation directorate and corporate governance, enforcement and compliance directorate.

    “As part of the exercise, Mrs. Adeshola Obeya, has also been appointed as the Acting Secretary to the Commission. All changes and appointments are with immediate effect. The restructuring is part of the Commission’s efforts at repositioning the Commission for better service delivery.’’

  • Linkage gets Pearl Sectoral Leadership award

    Underwriting firm, Linkage Assurance Plc, has won the Pearl Sectoral Leadership Award on corporate excellence in capital market.

    Linkage came tops, having been nominated with NEM Insurance Plc and Continental Reinsurance Plc, at the ceremony held in Lagos.

    According to the organisers, Linkage Assurance Plc, alongside other sectoral winners,  weathered the storm, to sustain their leadership of the market.

    President, Pearl Awards Nigeria, Tayo Orekoya, said the award has been won by over 85 quoted companies for outstanding operational and stock performance since inception.

    While commending Linkage for standing tall amid challenges undermining growth of insurance business in Nigeria, he said: “As partners in progress with capital market regulators, we shall continue to engender healthy rivalry among other initiatives aimed at deepening the vibrancy of the market.’’

    Acting Managing Director, Linkage Assurance Plc, Daniel Braie, who led top management of the company to receive the award, thanked the organisers for recognising the efforts that the board and management of the company were making to ensure value creation for shareholders.

    Braie said the company is committed to sustaining the rules and regulations of the capital market and ensuring regulatory compliance and good corporate governance practice.

    He noted that the company will continue to deploy strategies and measures to increase insurance penetration and grow the business such that its shareholders will continue to earn good returns on their investment.

    “The potential of the industry is huge and I called on the general public to embrace insurance as the most effective and efficient means of managing their risks against unforeseen circumstances.

    “Our 2017 financial year recorded a 431 percent growth in Profit After Tax (PAT), growing from N544.6 million in 2016 to N2.89 billion in the review period. Total assets during the period also rose by 15 percent, moving from N20.33 billion the previous year to N23.31 billion in 2017,”  he added.

  • AXA Mansard CEO joins WAII

    The Governing Council of the West African Insurance Institute (WAII) has appointed the Chief Executive Officer of AXA Mansard Insurance Plc, Mr. Kunle Ahmed, as a member of its Academic Board.

    In a statement, WAII said: “The institute provides professional insurance education and, in conjunction with both University of South Africa and Cambridge Graduate University, also conducts Master’s programmes in Risk Management and Insurance and Marketing. It also serves as a centre for the collection of technical and other insurance data.’’

    Ahmed, however, said his appointment comes as great news and the entire AXA Mansard team.

    Ahmed said having graduated with distinction from the same institution several years ago, he was excited to serve his alma matter on the board.

    ‘’I will be contributing my quota, through the Academic Board, towards the achievement of the lofty goals of the institute,’’ he said.

    He stressed that AXA Mansard, like WAII, is committed to investing in personnel development, which is key to sustaining superior service standards and world-class insurance practice.

  • NEM creates awareness with fitness walk

    NEM Insurance Plc has embarked on a fitness walk to create insurance awareness and develop its workers physically and mentally.

    The workers, led by the Group Managing Director of the underwriting firm, Tope Smart and other executive directors, walked from the company’s head office on Ikorodu Road to Maryland, Lagos and back, distributing flyers and sensitising the public.

    Smart, who spoke after the exercise, said the company aims to promote not only a professionally fit workforce but also a healthy and physically fit workforce.

    He said the company believes that the walk will have an impact on its operations because a fit workforce will ensure the staff do their job without any stress.

    He stated that the company also used the  walk to promote and advance the image of the industry.

    He added that the company is doing very well as they are moving to achieve our target for the year.

    He said: “The fitness walk is an initiative that we came up with when we discovered that the stress surrounding Nigerians daily activities was very much. Also, apart from our marketers who go out, some other staff will sit from morning till evening.

    “Although we have a gym in the office building and a few of them make use of it early in the morning before they begin work, many of the staff do not have the opportunity to do that. We have also been using the image of the company to promote the industry.

    “NEM is doing very well as we are moving to achieve our target for this year. Our income is and bottom line are growing and we are excited”, he said.

  • STI grows premuim by 27 %

    Sovereign Trust Insurance(STI) Plc has continued in its growth trajectory as the firm grows its Gross Premium Written(GPW) in the third quarter ofthe year by 27 per cent above what was generated in the same period last year.

    The firm recorded a growth of N2 billion, from N7.3 billion to N9.3 billion.

    This was made known in a statement signed by the firm’s Head of Corporate Communications and Brand Management, Segun Bankole in Lagos.

    The statement reads: “Net Premium rose from N3.5 billion to N4.1 billion in the third quarter of 2018, representing 17 per cent increase.  Total assets also increased by 7 per cent in the quarter under review from N9.7 billion to N10.4 billion.

    “As expected of an underwriting firm that has generated more business than it did in the previous quarter of 2017, the claims expense of the company slightly increased by two per cent from N1.2 billion in the third quarter of 2017 to N1.3 billion in the same quarter of 2018.

    “Consequently, the Profit before Tax deepened by 16 per cent from N716million to N601million in Q3 of 2018.There was a decline also in the Profit after Tax from N667million to N543milion, representing a 19 per cent decrease in the quarter.

    ‘’STI is really poised to ending the year on a very positive note going by the recent trend of its consistent growth rate. With this result, it is almost certain that the firm will close the 2018 financial year on a two-digit billion figure by all indications; a feat that will be considered historical for the more than two decades firm that is yet to hit that mark.”

  • Consolidated Hallmark holds EGM Nov. 28

    Arrangements have been concluded by Consolidated Hallmark Insurance (CHI) Plc to hold its Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) on Wednesday, November 28.

    In a  statement, the company stated that at the EGM, scheduled to hold at the Westwood Hotel, Ikoyi, Lagos, shareholders would seek aproval for the increase in authorised shares of the company from 10 billion units of 50 Kobo par value per share to 15 billion.

    According to the statement, this would be done through the creation of more five billion units.

    Based on this, the share capital of the company will be increased from N5 billion to N7.5 billion.

    Shareholders will also at the meeting formally give their approval for additional capital rise through private placement of 1.13 billion units at the price of 65 Kobo per share.

    The private placement is expected to bring in an additional N734.5 million to the coffers of the company.

    It is next in the series of proactive efforts of the Board and Management to boost the working capital of the company and adequately position it as a leading player in the underwriting of big ticket insurance transactions, having successfully raised N500 million through the rights Issue to existing shareholders of 1 billion units that was 108 per cent subscribed during the last quarter of 2017 but concluded in the first quarter of 2018.

    The company’s Managing Director, Mr. Eddie Efekoha, who is also Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria President, said he is optimistic of a very successful outing at the meeting as shareholders of the company have often been delighted with the regular dividend payments over the years.

    He said: “Out of 10 financial years that the company has been quoted on the NSE, it has paid out dividends seven times amounting to a total of N1.22 billion. Also, the deployment of capital raised during the rights Issue is impacting positively in results as noticeable in the impressive performance during the nine months ended 30th September 2018.

    “Profit After Tax rose significantly to N356 million from the N209 million recorded during the corresponding period of 2017 while Gross Premium Income rose to N5.4billion from the previous N4.5bilion.

    “CHI Plc has also been consistent in promptly meeting its claims payment obligations to customers. Over N11.7 billion has been expended on claims in the last five years (from 2014 to September 2018). Of this amount, over N4billion has been paid in 2018 alone”, he noted.