All Posts in "Day: May 6, 2021"

Insurance companies expect to settle N4.5bn #EndSARS Protest Claims

Insurance companies in the country are expected to pay N4.5 billion as claims that were affected during the #EndSAR protest.

The chairman of Nigerian Insurers Association(NIA),  Mr. Ganiyu Musa, who disclosed this at an interactive session with insurance journalists in Lagos, noted that operators are still collating claims and every genuine claim will be settled.

He said over 2000 businesses were involved in the claims companies are going to settle.

Musa said: “The number of insured businesses that were affected at the last count was about 2000 insured loss and the industry have settled over N4 billion claims in respect of the endsars protest. Once they are documented and completed, we have the commitment of our members that claims will be paid timely.”

The Association is on top of developments on the aftermath of the protests and will continue to encourage members to pay all genuine claims in line with the extant policies.

On the Consolidated Insurance Bill 2020, Musa said: “NIA welcomes the review as it will align the Act with global best practice and promote the business of insurance in the country.”

According to him, “The current insurance legislation is outdated and has made it impossible to do things that need to be done.

On the African Insurance Organisation Conference, AIO 2021, Musa said: “Originally planned for year 2020, COVID-19 was a force majeure due to health protocols and travel restrictions. With availability of vaccines, reduction in infection rate coupled with relaxation of travel restrictions and other protocols around the coronavirus disease, the AIO Executive Committee and the NIA have agreed to hold it from 4 – 8 September 2021. A hybrid conference has been agreed and we solicit your support in hosting the best conference ever.”

Speaking on the Nigerian Insurance Industry Database /Nigerian Insurance Industry Portal (NIID/NIIP), Musa said: “The Nigerian Insurance Industry database was established to reduce soft market practices and eliminate fake insurance policies.

The Association has taken a step further by creating the Nigerian Insurance Industry platform to enable vehicle owners purchase their third-party motor vehicle insurance cover from the comfort of their homes and telephones. So far, we are seeing a lot of traction on the platform across the states of the Federation and we are hopeful that other states will key into the project before the end of the year.”

On the Marine Module, he said: “As you are probably aware, the Central Bank of Nigeria has since integrated the NIA Marine Module into the National Trade portal and all insurance certificates required for import and export are generated from the Portal.  This, no doubt, signals the end of fake Marine Insurance Certificates at the Ports.”

Musa stated that he became the Chairman of the Council of Bureaux of the Ecowas Brown Card Scheme at its 37th Ordinary Session in January this year. “A major issue for the Bureau is domestication of Compulsory Brown Card in the country. We are hopeful that when all the fine details have been sorted, it will be implemented in Nigeria,” he said.

On the new NIA House Project, Musa said; “Construction of a befitting Secretariat for the Association has reached an advanced stage and we are hopeful that the building will be completed at the end of the second quarter so that we can take full possession of the property and relocate our secretariat staff before the end of the year. Of course, we have had some delay in meeting delivery timelines due mainly to the outbreak of COVID-19 and the regulatory restrictions on number of workers on site at any point in time.”

On the initiatives on compulsory insurance, he said: “We have commenced discussions with Lagos State Building Control Agency as part of engagements on the implementation of Lagos State Building law. We are also working closely with the state vehicle Inspection service on enforcement of Third Party Motor Insurance in the state.

“We are also engaging Kaduna, Kogi and Ogun States, and remain hopeful that other states will see value in the platform and embrace it. Out of the estimated 13 million vehicles in Nigeria only about 2,939,767 Third Party Motor policies are in force as at (Apr 26, 2021).”

Patoma Admin by — May 6, 2021 in Insurance 0
Lasaco makes Omowunnmi Akinnifesi a brand ambassador

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

Lasaco Assurance has unveiled Nigerian international super model and former ‘Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria’, Miss Omowunmi Akinnifesi as its new brand ambassador.

The engagement of Omowunmi signifies a new resolve of the company to widen its scope to attract younger, hardworking Nigerians.

The new brand ambassador who is also a former Miss Tourism International and a lifestyle influencer is expected to use her popularity and networks in real life and on social media to promote the image and products of Lasaco Assurance with the objectives of increasing brand awareness and help in driving sales.

The Deputy Managing Director, Corporate Services, Mr. Rilwan Oshinusi spoke briefly about the history of the company. “Lasaco Assurance has been here for 40 years and we owe the favour to the late Alhaji Lateef Jakande, the former Executive Governor of Lagos. May his soul rest in peace. 40 years ago, we were a parastatal with Lagos State and in 1996, we floated as a Plc”.

Speaking on the decision of the company to engage Omowunmi as the new brand ambassador,  Oshinusi said the decision was made based on Omowunmi’s representation. “Our decision to engage Miss. Omowunmi Akinnifesi as a brand ambassador and use her expertise was informed by her representation. She has not only represented Nigeria, she has represented us internationally.

She has a good brand and we believe we would learn from her, learn from her exposure and wealth of knowledge. The goodwill of Lasaco has already been great and by having Omowunmi on board, we hope that our brand will remain and get bigger”.

In her response, the new ambassador said she believes she shares the same values with the company. “I’m really excited to be the new corporate brand ambassador of Lasaco because it is one of the organisations I believe I share the same values with. Lasaco stands for transparency, accountability and efficiency, and these are the values I stand very firm with .I also believe my platform will bring visibility to Lasaco and I’m looking forward to this partnership. Insurance is something that we often take for granted in this part of the world and I believe that the time has come for everyone to start taking insurance seriously. This is the visibility I intend to bring into this partnership”.

Lasaco signs Omowunmi Akinifesi as New Corporate Ambassador
The Chairman of the company, Mrs Teju Phillips said she is delighted to have the new brand ambassador. “Obviously, everybody knows that I’m a gender freak and I’m delighted that Miss Omowunmi Akinnifesi has embraced the branding of what Lasaco stands for. The new age for insurance is the planet and generation she is coming from and she is assuring us that she will expose Lasaco into that generation and create the awareness that the best way to live is to insure their lives as they go along. So, everyone especially women should insure all that they have including home, work place, family and every other thing about them. We look forward to a fruitful business relationship with our new ambassador”.

Lasaco Assurance Plc is a registered composite insurance and financial services company in Nigeria that offers Life and non-life Insurance, Oil and Gas Insurance, Asset Management and Investment Financial services.

It was incorporated on 20th December 1979 and was granted License to carry out insurance and other related businesses on 7th July 1980. On 1st August 1980, the Company commenced operations. Aside from the Company headquarters located in Ikeja where the company currently operates from, it has branches and underwriting offices in 15 other locations across the country.

Patoma Admin by — May 6, 2021 in Insurance 0
AXA Group grows revenue by 2% in Q1 2021

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

The AXA Group grow revenue by 2 percent to €30.7bn in Q1 on a comparable basis, with commercial lines revenue up 4 percent to €11.6bn helped by the strong rate increases.

AXA XL’s revenues were up 4 percent in the first quarter of 2021, with rates rising 11 percent across the portfolio and renewal rates up 15 percent in insurance and 11 percent in reinsurance

AXA XL’s growth was partly curbed by a 7 percent reduction in underwriting exposure in certain areas, particularly international casualty and property.

AXA said AXA XL is on track to hit its €1.2bn underlying earnings target for full-year 2021, despite a higher-than-usual nat cat charge in Q1, which includes losses for the Texas freeze event. AXA XL’s non-cat losses have been more favourable than expected, AXA said.

Commercial lines business outside AXA XL recorded growth of 4 percent in France to €1.3bn, and in Europe revenue was up 1percent to €3.3bn.

AXA’s group chief financial officer Etienne Bouas-Laurent said: “This good performance was underpinned by sustained growth in our preferred segments, notably with P&C commercial lines up 4percent, health up 5 percent.”

Adding: “AXA XL performed well in the quarter, pursuing its underwriting discipline, achieving significant price increases, targeted exposure reductions and growing revenues by 4 percent”

Patoma Admin by — May 6, 2021 in Insurance 0
Munich Re announces €589m profit for Q1 2021

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

Munich Re report a group profit of €589million for the first quarter of 2021.

Lower Covid-19 losses doubled Munich Re’s operating result to €798million, with reinsurance accounting for €558m and ERGO €240m.

Munich Re’s CFO Christoph Jurecka said the group is on track to meet its full-year profit target of €2.8bn. The firm’s gross premium forecast has increased by €2bn on the back of anticipated reinsurance growth to €57bn for 2021. Gross premiums for Q1 2021 were up 1.9 percent to €14.6bn, split €9.4bn to reinsurance and €5.2bn to ERGO.

ERGO added €178m to group profit in Q1, up 146 percent from €72m, buoyed by a 2 percent rise in premium income to €5.16bn and a 3 percent rise in its investment result. Munich Re said higher claims from man-made losses were mitigated by lower claims linked to Covid-19.

The group’s reinsurance account recorded a 176 percent rise in profit to €410m in Q1 driven by P&C, which added €358m (up 155 percent).

The P&C reinsurance business improved its combined ratio for the quarter to 98.9 percent from 106 percent, despite major losses – more than €10m each – totalling €892m.

Lower man-made losses, including €100m of Covid-19 claims, fell to €247m from €973m in Q1 2020. This helped balance a rise in nat cat losses, which more than tripled to €646m after Munich Re booked €450m from the freezing conditions in Texas during Q1.

Reinsurance renewals for April 2021 recorded rate increases of 2.4 percent Munich Re said prices were higher in markets such as Japan but at the lower end in Europe. It expects further rate increases during the next renewal round in July.

Patoma Admin by — May 6, 2021 in Insurance 0
Swiss Re reports $331m net profit in Q1 2021

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

Parent group Swiss Re reported net income of $333m in Q1, 2021 compared to a loss $225m in the same period of 2020.

Swiss Re Corporate Solutions swung to a $96million net profit in the first quarter, from a loss of $166million in the prior-year period, and saw its combined ratio fall to 96 percent from 120.6 percent as fortunes continued to improve.

Group net premiums rose to $10.21billion from $9.58billion a year earlier.

Swiss Re said the numbers reflect a “continuation of the successful turnaround achieved in 2020 and the diminishing impact of Covid-19-related losses”.

Last year, Swiss Re Corporate Solutions’ first-quarter numbers were dented by pandemic losses. It would have made a profit of $6m during that period while achieving a combined ratio of 102.3 percent.

In Q1 2021, profit would have been a touch higher without Covid-19 losses at $122m and the combined ratio a touch lower at 94.4 percent

Swiss Re Corporate Solutions’ actual 96 percent combined came despite higher-than-expected natural catastrophe losses of $110m.

Net premiums earned were stable at $1.22bn as rate increases and growth in selected areas offset the impact of previous portfolio pruning measures. The unit achieved a risk-adjusted average price increase of 13 percent in the first quarter.

Swiss re said that “as a result of disciplined underwriting, strict expense management and continued rate increases”, the business unit is on track to achieve its targeted normalised combined ratio of less than 97 percent this year. Its return on equity stood at 16.2 percent in the first quarter.

It said “strong underlying performance of all businesses” more than offset a further $643m in Covid-19-related losses and large nat cat claims of $426m. Some $570m of the pandemic losses fell to life and health reinsurance.

Excluding Covid-19-related claims and reserves, Swiss Re’s net income was $843m in the first quarter.

Swiss Re’s P&C reinsurance division (P&C Re) reported net income of $477m in the first quarter, up significantly on the $61m during the same period last year. Swiss Re said this was the result of continued price improvements and disciplined underwriting.

The unit suffered large nat cat losses of $316m, primarily from US winter storms. Excluding the impact of Covid-19, P&C Re would have reported net income of $509m.

P&C Re’s combined ratio improved to 96.5 percent from 110.8 percent in Q1 2020. Net premiums earned increased by 5.7 percent to $5bn.

The P&C reinsurance division saw a 20 percent increase in treaty business to $2.6bn at April renewals, on the back of “attractive transaction opportunities and pricing”. It achieved a nominal price increase of 4 percent in the renewal round, more than offsetting lower interest rates and higher loss assumptions.

Swiss Re’s life and health business fell to a net loss of $184m in Q1 as a result of significant Covid-19 claims, which were driven by high mortality rates in the US and other countries. Life and health posted a net profit of $299m in the same period last year.

Swiss Re’s CFO John Dacey said: “The return to profitability this quarter in our property and casualty businesses underlines the earnings potential of our diversified business model. We effectively absorbed the heightened mortality impact on our life and health business and maintained a very strong capital position.“

Group CEO Christian Mumenthaler said: “We have seen a solid start to 2021 and expect all our businesses to continue delivering a strong underlying performance with diminishing Covid-19 losses. I am particularly encouraged by the improving profitability in our property and casualty businesses, supported by strong renewals year to date in improving market conditions.“

Moody’s analyst Dominic Simpson said Swiss Re’s return to profit in Q1, despite having to increase its Covid-related loss provisions by more than $600m, is “testament to the continued improvement in its underwriting performance”.

“A loss in the life and health business as a result of significant additional Covid-related mortality losses was more than offset by a good performance in the P&C reinsurance and Corporate Solutions businesses, notwithstanding the US winter storms. Rate increases achieved at the April renewals will further benefit the group’s underlying profitability,” he said.

Patoma Admin by — May 6, 2021 in Insurance 0