All Posts in "Day: August 3, 2021"

Unitrust Insurance records GWP of N3.98bn in 2020

By admin

 

Unitrust Insurance Company Limited, recorded a Gross Premium Written (GPW) of N3.98 billion, representing a year-on-year growth rate of 13 per cent when compared to the previous year.

The Managing Director of the underwriting firm, Mr. John Ijerheime, disclosed this today during a courtesy visit by the executive of National Association of Insurance and Pension Correspondents (NAIPCO) to the firm’s head office in Lagos.

He noted that the company closed the year with a Profit After Tax (PAT) for the year stood at N747.17 million. Profit of N802.19 million and paid N1.8 billion claims in 2020

“In the same vein, the company’s underwriting profit improved significantly as the total profits of N802.194 million from N 301.759 million reported in the 2019 financial year. The claims paid for the year was N1.08 billion,” he said.

Ijerheime reiterated that against the backdrop of challenges that characterised the year, the company delivered an outstanding performance across key metrics.

“Indeed, 2020 was a year that will be remembered for its unprecedented disruptions, which were primarily attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic and its multidimensional impacts on global economies. Yet, in the face of prevailing circumstances the Company delivered impressive results during the Year.

“Our business growth model is driven by structural analysis of our strengths, weaknesses, opportunity, and Threats (SWOT) for responsive bonding irrespective of the challenging situations. We have by this result, demonstrated our robust capacity and sustainable execution of our strategic growth plans,” he submitted.

On 2021 half year performance, he stated that as at July 31, 2021, the company had generated N3.7 billion premium, which was closed to what it did in the full year of 2020, adding that the firm anticipates closing the year with over N5 billion.

The Unitrust Insurance boss said the firm had paid over N400 million claims this year.

Chairman of NAIPCO, Chuks Udo Okonta, used the visit to abreast the management of the company of the initiatives adopted by the association to contribute immensely towards the development of insurance sector.

According to him, “Claims profiling helps in showcasing companies claims payment history for a period of five years, while product profiling focuses on the benefits of arrays of products paraded by companies and management profiling helps showcase the pedigree of individuals steering the affairs of companies..

Patoma Admin by — August 3, 2021 in Insurance 0
Nigerian appointed university chancellor in Scotland

By admin

 

 

A Nigerian, Yekemi Otaru, has been named Chancellor of the University of the West of Scotland (UWS).

The university, with origins dating back to 1897, made this known via a statement on its website.

Ms Otaru will formally take up the role of Chancellor at the UWS on 1 September 2021, succeeding Dame Elish Angiolini.

The 42-year-old holds four degrees and has considerable industrial experience in engineering and marketing. She is Co-Founder and Executive Director at Doqaru Limited, a prominent Aberdeen-based sales and marketing consultancy.

Otaru is also a board member of Interface, a public sector backed establishment which connects a wide range of organisations from national and international industries to Scotland’s universities, research institutes and colleges, matching them with world-leading academic expertise to help them grow. A bestselling author and social media expert, Otaru is also known for her innovative use of platforms such as LinkedIn.

As Chancellor, Otaru will hold formal powers to confer degrees, diplomas and other academic distinctions, and will represent UWS at key events as an advocate and dignitary.

Reacting to her appointment, Yekemi Otaru said, “I am honoured to have been appointed Chancellor-elect of University of the West of Scotland, following in the footsteps of a remarkable individual in Dame Elish Angiolini.

“We are all living through challenging times, and higher education plays a vital role in society and for our economy. I eagerly look forward to being part of the University, as it continues to carry out world-class research and knowledge transfer initiatives such as in the areas of healthcare and sports science,” she added.
Professor Craig Mahoney, Principal and Vice-Chancellor at UWS, added: “I am delighted with Yekemi’s appointment as the University’s Chancellor-elect. Yekemi’s values very much align with those of UWS, from her passion for advancing equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) to her commitment to enterprise, and her appointment is reflective of our strategic mission to make a positive difference to wider society.”

Ellie Gomersall, President of the Students’ Union at UWS, said, “Yekemi is a great fit for the role as Chancellor of the University. UWS is a 21st century university and, with Yekemi’s impressive background in social media and as a woman in engineering, her modern approach will be really welcomed. I look forward to having the opportunity to work with her and see what we can achieve together.”

Yekemi Otaru is the first of three children of Dr Raphael and Mrs Sarah Awoseyin of Ayedun in Oke-Ero Local Government Area of Kwara State.

She attended Auntie Rose Primary School at Ugborikoko in Warri and from there proceeded to Federal Government College, Warri, where she did only JSS1 before going to Oman with her parents in 1990. She attended American British Academy (ABA) in Muscat, Oman and returned to Nigeria in 1994 to complete her secondary education at Greater Tomorrow Secondary School (GTSS), Benin City.

From there, she proceeded to the University of Benin where she studied and graduated with a Second Class Upper Division in Chemical Engineering in 2002.

She got married to Gabriel Oghie Otaru – a petroleum engineer with Shell Petroleum, in Port Harcourt in March 2003 during her NYSC.

On completing her NYSC, she was selected by TotalFinaElf in Nigeria to be one of the 20 pioneer intakes into the collaborative MSc Petroleum Engineering programme of France’s Institut Français du Pétrole (IFP) and University of Port Harcourt.

Otaru was one of only six graduates of that programme pioneer set offered a permanent employment by TotalFinaElf. She soon moved to the UK when her husband was transferred to Aberdeen by Shell.

In 2016, she teamed up with Sarah Downs to establish Doqaru Limited, providing knowledge-driven sales and marketing consultancy services to a variety of industries.

In 2016, Otaru was named among the top 40 under-40 business innovators by Scottish Business News.

Another Nigerian, Professor Charles Egbu, has been Vice-Chancellor of Leeds Trinity University since 1 November 2020.

Patoma Admin by — August 3, 2021 in Metro 0
Tanzanian Govt calls on insurance industry to back financial sector masterplan

By admin

 

 

The Tanzanian government is urging the insurance industry to work together to support the country’s Financial Sector Development Master Plan 2020-2030.

The master plan sets ambitious goals for the insurance sector, including:
50 percent coverage of the adult population within a decade;

life insurance penetration to be 3 percent and non-life, 2 percent

10 percent of beneficiaries of retirement plans to use annuity products by 2030;

90 percent of the population have health insurance by 2030;

20 percent of the adult population have life savings products;

80 percent of the population are aware of insurance matters by 2025;

10 percent of total insurance premium to contributed by agriculture insurance by 2030;

10 new demand-driven insurance products developed by 2030;

8 affordable insurance distribution channels to be developed by 2030.

Speaking at the official opening of the annual conference of the Tanzania Insurance Brokers Association (TIBA) in Dar es Salaam last week, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and Planning Emmanuel Tutuba said the government alone cannot achieve the goal of expanding insurance coverage to all. Support is needed from the private sector.

He said that insurance is key to the country’s financial inclusion agenda and the bulk of growth of the financial sector in the next decade is expected to be generated by the insurance industry.

Mr Tutuba said, “This transformation can only happen if the insurance industry pivots itself on innovation and synergy. The first part is digitalisation. The second part is for the players, re/insurers, insurance brokers/agents, bank assurers and all the players across the insurance value chain to work in synergy so as to achieve the economies of scale.”

Insurance industry’s capacity to be expanded

He also said that the government would seek to enhance the industry’s underwriting capacity with the view to improving the insurance sector’s contribution to the national economy. Special thrust will be on enhancing capital requirements and human skills development as well as establishment of pools for specialised and large risks, for example, oil and gas as well as aviation.

Patoma Admin by — August 3, 2021 in Insurance 0
Aon’s revenue from commercial risk jumps to 20% in Q2′ 2021

By admin

 

Broking giant Aon has benefited from a 20% jump in revenue within its commercial risk segment, the segment’s revenue rose from $1,126 million in Q2′ 20 to $1,349 million. citing strong new business generation, retention, and management of the renewal book portfolio.

This improvement has also been attributed to the more discretionary portions of Aon’s business, primarily in transaction liability, project-related work, construction, and cyber consulting, which were negatively impacted in the prior year period.

Aon’s efforts in the reinsurance space during Q2 saw the firm secure a 12% year-on-year increase that resulted in revenues of $500 million.

Market impact is reported to have been a modestly positive driver in this area, with the majority of revenue in its treaty portfolio recurring in nature and recorded in connection with the major renewal periods that take place throughout the first half of the year.

Equally, the second half of the year is driven by facultative placements and capital markets that are more transactional in nature.

Net income attributable to shareholders was $379 million, down from $398 million in the prior year quarter.

Total revenue increased 16% to $2.9 billion, including organic revenue growth of 11%, which CEO Greg Case describes as the firm’s strongest in over a decade, translating into 17% growth in earnings per share, and contributing to 13% free cash flow growth.

“These results demonstrate the incredible resilience of our colleagues and the power of Aon United, said Case.

“We are moving forward at an accelerated pace, with a proven leadership team and an enduring strategy.

“Our ability to innovate on behalf of clients remains unrivaled and continues to translate into significant progress against key financial metrics and shareholder value creation.

Patoma Admin by — August 3, 2021 in Insurance 0
Swiss Re reports $1bn net income for half year 2021

By admin

 

Global reinsurance giant Swiss Re has reported net income of $1 billion for the first half of 2021.

An improved performance in its property and casualty (P&C) business more than offset a COVID-19 driven loss in its life and health (L&H) reinsurance division.

Swiss Re’s H1 2021 Group-wide profit would have reached $1.7 billion excluding COVID-19, compared with a net loss of roughly $1.1 billion for the prior year period, during which Swiss Re reported pandemic losses of a massive $2.5 billion.

Starting with its P&C reinsurance arm, and Swiss Re has announced net income of $1.2 billion for H1 2021, which is a solid improvement on the loss of $519 million for the same period last year.

The firm attributes the robust performance to disciplined underwriting, ongoing price improvements, and significantly fading COVID-19 related losses and a strong investment result.

Within P&C Re, the return on equity (RoE) totalled 27.2%; as Swiss Re grew net premiums earned by almost 9% to $10.5 billion, driven by both volume and price increases.

Losses from natural catastrophe events reached $521 million for the period and are mostly related to US Winter Storm Uri, while Swiss Re’s P&C arm has reported man-made losses of $100 million for the period.

The impact from the pandemic on P&C reinsurance was minimal in H1 2021, says Swiss Re, adding that it expects P&C losses related to COVID-19 to amount to less than $200 million for the remainder of 2021.

At the recent July reinsurance renewals, P&C Re achieved a nominal price increase of 4%, while the volume of treaties remained stable at $16 billion.

Overall, P&C Re has reported an improved combined ratio of 94.4 percent for H1 2021 compared with 115.8 percent  a year earlier, with the unit on track to meet its target, normalised combined ratio of less than 95% in 2021.

“Overall price quality improved, more than offsetting the impact of decreased interest rates and adjustments to loss assumptions. In the July treaty renewals, premium volumes slightly increased, with growth in attractive natural catastrophe business in the US,” says Swiss Re.

Within L&H Re in H1 2021, Swiss Re has announced a net loss of $119 million in light of continued losses from the pandemic.

While these losses fell in Q2 when compared with Q1, the vast majority of Swiss Re’s COVID-19 loss of $870 million in H1 2021 are attributable to its L&H Re business. In fact, excluding L&H Re COVID-19 losses of $810 million, L&H Re’s underlying business performed well, with net income of $530 million.

Net premiums earned and fee income jumped by more than 12 percent, year-on-year, to $7.5 billion, mostly as a result of longevity transactions in the EMEA region and favourable foreign exchange developments.

For the Group, net premiums earned and fee income increased by 7.6 percent to $20.8 billion in H1 2021, when compared with the prior year period.

The reinsurer produced a return on investment of 3.2 percent in H1 2021, driven largely by recurring income as well as equity valuation gains.

Swiss Re’s Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Christian Mumenthaler, commented: “We are very pleased with the improved profitability achieved by the Group in the first half of this year. The focus on portfolio quality at P&C Re is delivering very strong results, and we are reaping the fruits of our decisive actions that brought Corporate Solutions back on track.

“Although L&H Re is still impacted by claims related to COVID-19 as we support our clients and society during this pandemic, its underlying business continues to perform well. All our businesses are growing, and our very strong capital position allows us to pursue attractive opportunities across all lines of business.”

John Dacey, Swiss Re’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO), added: “Our property and casualty businesses are on track to deliver on their ambitious combined ratio goals for this year. At L&H Re, we currently believe that the progress of the global vaccination programmes will lead to diminishing COVID-19 losses over the coming quarters. Swiss Re’s asset management continues to successfully navigate financial markets and deliver strong returns for the Group.”

Turning to the Corporate Solutions division, and net income here reached $262 million for H1 2021 after a solid turnaround of the business last year. This positive result compares with a COVID-19 driven loss of $312 million for the unit in H1 2020, and was achieved in spite of nat cat losses of $155 million.

Net premiums earned in Swiss Re Corporate Solutions increased by more than 3 percent to $2.6 billion, driven by realised rate increases and selective new business growth. The division’s RoE hit 21.1 percent, and combined ratio totalled 92.7percent, and was supported by favourable prior year development, explains Swiss Re.

At iptiQ, gross premiums written for the core business jumped by a significant 133 percent to $333 million for H1 2021, with Swiss Re noting good contributions across all businesses.

The entity’s gross income, excluding COVID-19 impacts of $5 million, increased by more than 50bpercent, year-on-year, to $26 million for H1 2021.

“The first half of 2021 has demonstrated the strength of our business model as we see our underwriting actions deliver results. While we remain in an uncertain pandemic situation, we are confident that all our businesses are well positioned to continue to perform strongly,” said Mumenthaler.

Patoma Admin by — August 3, 2021 in Insurance 0
Nigeria’s loans from World Bank, African Development Bank rise to $14.35bn

By Favour Nnabugwu

Nigeria’s loans from the World Bank and the African Development Bank rose from $7.14billion to $14.25billion between June 30, 2015 and March 31, 2021.

According to the Debt Management Office, Nigeria’s commitment to the banks rose by $7.11bn from 2015 to 2021, an increase of 98.48 per cent.

The data shows that as of June 30, 2015, the Federal Government had borrowed a total sum of $6.19bn from the World Bank.

A breakdown of the world bank’s loans to the Nigeria shows that a greater part of the loans was obtained from the International Development Association, an arm of the World Bank that specialises in giving concessional loans to poor and fragile countries.

The IDA commitment to Nigeria amounted to $6.09bn.

Another member of the World Bank group, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, had a commitment of $94.80m in the country.

Also, the AfDB commitment to Nigeria stood at $946.52m, comprising loans from various internal bodies such as the African Development Bank ($350m) and African Development Fund ($596.53m).
By March 31, 2021, the Federal Government’s debt to the World Bank had risen to $11.51bn, reflecting a $5.32bn or 86 per cent increase.

The debt included loans of $11.10bn and $410.23m from the International Development Association and International Bank for Reconstruction and Development respectively.

With a commitment of $11.51bn, the World Bank is responsible for 35.02 per cent of Nigeria’s foreign portfolio of $32.86bn as of March 31, 2021.

During the the same period, the Federal Government acquired $1.59bn from the AfDB, $0.21m from Africa Growing Together Fund and $942.51m from ADF.

As of now the AfDB’s commitment to the country is $2.74bn, representing 8.3 per cent of the country’s total external debt.

The data break down also shows that Nigeria is currently indebted to the following agencies: Export Import Bank of China, with a portfolio of $3.40bn; the Exim Bank of India, with a portfolio of $34.95m; the Agence Française de Développement, with a portfolio of $486.6m; the Japan International Cooperation Agency, with a portfolio of $74.6m; and Germany, with a portfolio of $183.7m

Patoma Admin by — August 3, 2021 in Banking & Finance 0
Naicom sentitises MSMEs on insurance August 5

By Favour Nnabugwu

The National Insurance Commission(NAICOM) is having a sensitisation programme with Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises(MSMEs) on insurance come August 5, 2021.

The Commission is bringing together MSMEs across the entire Lagos state and its environs to learn and discuss key issues around the subject through insightful conversations with experts on the field.

A statement from the commission and signed by the Head, Corp. Comms and Market Development, Salami ‘Rasaaq, said, the workshop, which will take place in Lagos on the 5th of August, 2021, added that, the executive governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu is expected to declare the workshop open and deliver a keynote address.

He stressed that, the commission is serious about increasing insurance penetration, adoption and acceptance in the country and has been partnering relevant stakeholders to make this dream a reality.

The regulatory body had earlier sensitised MSMEs as well as relevant stakeholders in Kano State and the Federal Capital Territory(FCT), Abuja, on the need to subscribe to insurance products and services and the outcome was deemed successful.

Patoma Admin by — August 3, 2021 in Insurance 0