All Posts in "Day: May 16, 2022"

73% of workers under CPS falls below 40 years

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

 

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) in its 2021 fourth-quarter report — Age and Gender Distribution revealed that most contributors under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) are below 40 years.

The commission said the figure represents 73 per cent of the total contributors to the scheme.

According to the report, the number of male contributors surpassed females in the Retirement Savings Account (RSA) holders’ list.

Analysis of new registrations on the CPS for the quarter showed that 73 per cent were below the age of 40 years,” the report states.

“The Commission approved the payment of N6,414.57 million to 10,804 RSA holders under the age of 50 years, who were disengaged from work and unable to secure jobs within four months,” the report added.

“A total of N76.67 billion was paid as retirement benefits in Q4 2021. This was lower than the retirement benefits of N100.91 billion paid in Q3 2021 by N24.24 billion.”

“This points to the increasing sustainability of the CPS, as the younger generation are actively being enlisted into the scheme.

“Regarding gender distribution, 65 per cent of those that registered during the quarter were male, while 35 per cent were female.”
The report further added that over N6 billion was paid to retirees below 50 years under the retirement service account (RSA).

It said the retirement benefit paid was higher compared to the fourth quarter of 2021.

Patoma Admin by — May 16, 2022 in Pension 0
Nigeria High Commission assures NCRIB of business support

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

Top Team of the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers, NCRIB drew the audience of the Nigeria High Commission as the get the support of international trade from the Commission

The team who were part of delegations to the British Insurance Brokers Association conference in Manchester led by NCRIB president, Mr Rotimi Edu was received in audience by the Nigerian High Commissioner to the UK, Sarafa Tunji Isola.

L-  Hon Treasurer of The Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB): Mr Ayo Akande; Vice President of NCRIB, Mrs Ekeoma Ezeibe President Rotimi Edu, mni; Nigerian High Commissioner to UK, Sarafa Tunji Isola, NCRIB Past President, Dr Bola Onigbogi; Hon Auditor, Mrs Olufunke Adenusi and Executive Secretary, Tope Adaramola, during the visit to the Nigerian High Commissioner in London.

Isola however expressed the willingness of the Nigerian High Commission to support registered insurance brokers under the aegis of the NCRIB by facilitating exposures for their services through the trade office of the Embassy in the UK.

The High Commissioner who was delighted by the NCRIB visit, promised to ensure that Commission will endurance that brokers enjoy the business relationship between Nigeria and the UK..

NCRIB president informed the High Commissioner told the Commissioner that Nigeria and the UK share a strong bond in terms of business but wish to tighten the ties on insurance as well.

Edu said that the NCRIB under his leadership leadership had given a pride of place to strategic engagements both locally and internationally and that the Council was open to more collaboration with UK institutions given the fact that insurance is a global profession and business.

Patoma Admin by — May 16, 2022 in Insurance 0
Domestic airlines to reschedule cancelled flights – AON

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

 

There is a strong indication that domestic airlines will reschedule cancel flights under the aegis of Airline Operators of Nigeria, AON) in spite of aviation fuel scarcity

The operators said this in a statement signed by AON Spokesman, Dr Obiora Okonkwo. The statement titled, ‘Public notice: Disruptions in flight operations’, yesterday ( Monday ) read : “The Airline Operators of Nigeria wish to alert the public of impending disruptions to scheduled flight operations of members of the association.”

” This development is being forced on members by the growing scarcity of aviation fuel popular as Jet-Al. The scarcity is impacting negatively on the seamless conduct of air transport operations and would lead to flight rescheduling, and, or, cancellations.”

“However, the association and its members are working very hard, and in alliance with product marketers, government and relevant stakeholders, to ensure availability and proper pricing of aviation fuel in the country.”

“While pleading the understanding of the flying public in the face of this reality, we also promise to do all that is necessary, and within our powers, to restore normal flight schedules as soon as possible,” the airlines Spokesman promised.

Recall, AON members had threatened to shut down flight two weeks ago due to the high cost of aviation fuel , popularly called Jet A1. But the intervention of the federal government and stakeholders made the members call off the planned action at the last minute.

Patoma Admin by — May 16, 2022 in Aviation 0
Captives to take on risks shunned by traditional reinsurers – AGCS’s Houlihan

By admin

 

 

With many insurers and reinsurers beginning to shy away from complex emerging risks, captives could be set to take on more of the issues shunned by the traditional market.

This is according to Thomas Houlihan, Regional Head, Americas – ART (Alternative Risk Transfer) at Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS), who recently spoke to Reinsurance News about his company’s approach to an increasingly challenging market.

The unprecedented difficulties posed first by the COVID-19 pandemic and then by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine over the past two years have threatened to overshadow emerging risks for some re/insurers.

But Houlihan maintains that “awareness of risk is high” in the market, with recent worldwide events having, if anything, further highlighted the unpredictability of risks, both known and unknown.

“Insurers are keen to understand both in order to properly charge for the protection we provide,” the AGCS executive told Reinsurance News, but added that in some cases this awareness has led companies in the traditional space to avoid emerging risks that pose more unique challenges.
CCR Re

But Houlihan maintains that “awareness of risk is high” in the market, with recent worldwide events having, if anything, further highlighted the unpredictability of risks, both known and unknown.

“Insurers are keen to understand both in order to properly charge for the protection we provide,” the AGCS executive told Reinsurance News, but added that in some cases this awareness has led companies in the traditional space to avoid emerging risks that pose more unique challenges.

In particular, Houlihan pointed to the growing demand for captive solutions, as clients continue to explore ways of taking on more risk and spending their premium dollars wisely.

“I foresee the captive market – both fronting and structured solutions – taking on more of the issues which the traditional market is shying away from, be it wildfire, ESG or supply chain complications,” he said.

Demand for tailored and non-traditional solutions, such as those offered by the ART division at AGCS, has also been influenced by the hardening pricing environment, Houlihan suggested.

“It continues to push clients to think creatively,” he said. “There is often a way for clients to mitigate their increasing premium spend by taking on more risk, but they need clever structured solutions to give them the cash flow protection they need.”

Houlihan explained that the ART team within Allianz has provided clients an opportunity to take on more risk over a multi-year period on a mono-line or multi-line basis, which has helped clients to stabilize their insurance programs and smooth out the recent and ongoing market fluctuations.

“These solutions typically feature a flat rate over a multi-year period which provides stability and cost certainty over two-three or more years,” he told Reinsurance News.

“They are customizable to fit a client’s needs; for instance, it can take on a lower layer in the liability tower and a higher layer in the property tower, or vice versa. The solutions can also include a variety of loss structuring to allow the clients to mitigate their premium spend.”

In addition to reacting to risks at the forefront of the current market, Houlihan added that the Allianz ART is working to proactively tackle emerging and ever-changing risks such as cyber and ESG.

“We are able to think about these issues holistically as we have underwriting, actuarial, legal, claims and operations experts within our ART team,” he remarked. “Together we are driven to provide clients with individualized bespoke solutions for their current and future risks.”

The Allianz ART team has local underwriters in the US, London, Zurich and Singapore, and is also backed by the multinational capability of AGCS.

Patoma Admin by — May 16, 2022 in Insurance 0
Africa tourism sector for 14mn jobs in a decade

By admin

 

African travel & tourism sector is expected to create almost 14 million new jobs over the next decade, said the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) in its latest Economic Impact Report (EIR).

The global tourism body’s annual report also shows further optimism for the region’s Travel & Tourism GDP, which could approach pre-pandemic levels by 2023 – just 9 percent below 2019 level

The positive forecast from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), which shows an average of 1.4 million new jobs every year, also reveals the sector will lead the economic recovery in the region, with its annual GDP growth set to outpace the overall economy for the next 10 years.

According to the report, Travel & Tourism’s GDP is forecasted to grow at an average rate of 6.8% annually between 2022-2032, more than twice the 3.3 percent growth rate of region’s overall economy, to reach nearly $279 billion (7.2 percent of the total economy).

The sector’s contribution to GDP is expected to grow 20.5 percent to $144 billion by the end of 2022, amounting to 5.1 percent of the total economic GDP, while employment in the sector is set to grow by 3.1 percent this year to reach nearly 22 million jobs.

Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO, said: “Africa is clearly bouncing back and is set to experience a significant recovery over the couple of years and looking ahead over the next 10 years, the sector could create almost 14 million jobs.

“However, last year the recovery was significantly impacted by Omicron, which saw many countries reinstating severe and unjustified travel restrictions on several key African destinations.”

Before the pandemic, the Travel & Tourism sector’s contribution to the region’s GDP was 6.8 percent ($182.4 billion) in 2019, falling to just 3.8 percent ($96.5 billion) in 2020 when the pandemic was at its height, nearly halving the contribution of such a crucial sector to the economy with a 47.1 percent decline.

The sector also supported more than 25 million jobs across the region, which after a 22.9 percent drop, fell to just 19.6 million in 2020.

However, looking back at 2021, WTTC’s latest EIR report reveals a year in which we saw the beginning of the recovery for the region’s Travel & Tourism sector, Travel & Tourism’s contribution to GDP increased 23.5 peercent year on year, to reach more than US$119 billion.

It also saw a recovery of 1.6 million Travel & Tourism jobs, representing a positive 8.2% rise to reach more than 21 million.

Patoma Admin by — May 16, 2022 in Travel 0
African Specialty Risks energy capacity increase to $38bn

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

 

Africa Specialty Risks (ASR), the pan-African, focused reinsurance group, has announced that its energy division’s capacity has increased to $38m, provided through an ongoing relationship with India’s GIC Re and Hong Kong-headquartered Peak Re.

This follows 12 months of profitable underwriting results for ASR’s energy portfolio which provides coverage for the entire African continent including upstream, downstream, power, utilities, and renewables, the company says in a statement. So far, ASR has provided insurance cover in over 20 African countries.

This comprehensive coverage is designed to help ensure a just energy transition in Africa with ASR noting the importance of considering each application for insurance against the backdrop of achieving a fair and just energy transition for all.

ASR in its media release does not reveal the additional amount of energy capacity except for saying that the increase is “significant”.

Ms Suzan Pardesi, head of Energy underwriting at ASR, said, “We are delighted with the significant increase in our overall capacity and are committed to providing insurance cover to support our clients and partners across the continent in the wake of the current energy crisis.

“Africa is endowed with abundant renewable energy sources, upon which it can sustainably base its ambitious socio-economic development and ASR will support energy offerings which will provide profound welfare and environmental benefits to people across the continent. Energy price, demand, and security is at the top of the global agenda, and it is important that individual insurers map a course that will realistically meet energy demand in Africa.”

ASR is backed by Helios Investment Partners’ Fund IV and benefits from its extensive reach across Africa, as well as its knowledge and experience in its key markets. ASR is an Appointed Representative of Crispin Speers & Partners. It operates as a managing general agent sourcing world-leading capacity for African insurance and reinsurance risk.

Patoma Admin by — May 16, 2022 in Insurance 0