All Posts in "Insurance"

ATI provides $4.4m insurance cover through RLSF

Favour Nnabugwu

 

 

 

African Trade Insurance (ATI), through the Regional Liquidity Support Facility (RLSF), will provide insurance cover for an amount of $4.4 million against the Risk of delayed payment by ESCOM for the 60MW Salima Solar PV.

The RLSF policy will be for an initial tenure of up to ten years. The liquidity cover being provided via RLSF will enable up to $78 million of total project financing.

Salima Solar PV plant is due to start operations in August 2021. This will be the first solar PV in Malawi to connect to the grid. The energy generated, at an estimated annual average of 154GWh, will be sold exclusively to the Malawian utility, ESCOM, under a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).

This is the second project in the country to benefit from RLSF; the first project being Phase 1 of the Nkhotakota Solar Power Plant, with an initial installed capacity of 21MW. With project construction almost finalised, Salima Solar will be the first solar PV in Malawi to connect to the grid.

The 60MW Salima Solar PV plant will be instrumental for Malawi’s underdeveloped electricity sector, which has an installed generation capacity of around 439MW. Over 90% of this capacity comes from hydropower plants on the Shire River in the southern region. This heavy reliance on hydro is often constrained by drought and low water levels.

Reforms by the government have led to the establishment of a viable electricity market for private sector participation in generation expansion. These reforms enable a high potential for solar and new hydro technologies to enter the power market.

Patoma Admin by — July 16, 2021 in Insurance 0
South African unrest will push insured losses to $680m: reports

By admin

 

State-owned insurer Sasria has estimated that days of civil unrest across South Africa to drive insured losses of 10 billion rand ($683 million).

Sasria told Reuters that the losses would mostly stem from damage and theft from businesses, following widespread vandalism and looting, which has impacted thousands of properties and damaged major infrastructure.

The rioting was triggered by the jailing of former President Jacob Zuma, and has left more than 70 people dead so far.

Sasria was set up in 1974 after private insurers stopped underwriting political violence risks in South Africa, and so will be responsible for covering any losses arising from the unrest.

But Managing Director Cedric Masondo told Reuters that while the company has reinsurance cover that runs into the high single digits and can fund up to 10 billion rand of claims from its own balance sheet, it only covers customers up to a threshold of 500 million rand.

As a result, larger companies may have to deal with some of the loss costs themselves, if they have suffered significant damage.

With disruption now stretching into its sixth day, the South African government has sought to deploy about 25,000 troops to curb unrest, amid fears of food and fuel shortages.

The South African Insurance Association (SAIA) has welcomed the security interventions and expressed confidence in the ability of Sasria to provide for the anticipated claims.

“The Sasria model is a good example of how the public and private sectors can work together to provide solutions to individuals and businesses in South Africa,” the Association stated.

“Our member insurance companies and the broker fraternity, together with Sasria, will be working tirelessly to ensure that policyholders are assisted to get back on their feet as soon as possible.”

So far, most of the violence has centred around former President Zuma’s home province of KwaZulu-Natal, as well as Johannesburg and surrounding areas in the Gauteng province.

Patoma Admin by — July 16, 2021 in Insurance 0
Swiss Re forecasts global insurance premium to hit US$ 7 trn in 2021

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

Global insurance market premium recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic will be up by 5.8 percent to hit US $7 trillion by the end of 2021.

Swiss Re’s 2021 world insurance premium sigma report forecasts that global insurance premiums will follow this strong GDP growth, increasing by an expected 3.3 percent in 2021 to a total of US $6.9 trillion.

In addition, the report then forecasts another 3.9 percent of insurance premium growth in 2022 as well, which will take global premiums to just under US $7.2 trillion.

As ever, growth will differ depending on the maturity of a regions economic activity and the expected pace of its GDP growth, with the 2021 forecast suggesting that insurance premium growth will be 6.3 percent for China, 1.7 percent for the US, 2.8 percent in Western Europe and 5.6% for emerging markets.

As we’ve been saying since Spring 2020 when the pandemic began, a shock event such as COVID-19 was always going to drive heightened risk awareness and also some additional risk aversion in the world and Swiss Re acknowledges this in its new report.

The reinsurance firm said that, “A key opportunity for insurers is the positive development in consumer awareness, which has been cemented by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The sigma release demonstrates this in reporting that global health and protection-type insurance premiums grew by 1.9 percent and 1.7 percent respectively in 2020, which Swiss Re puts down to increased awareness of the value of health and protection-type products due to the pandemic.

Jerome Haegeli, Group Chief Economist at Swiss Re Institute, commented, “We expect the insurance industry to earn a record USD 7 trillion in premium by end of next year. The best preparation for the next economic shock is having economic buffers in place. However, fiscal and monetary buffers are being depleted, which means the private insurance sector is increasingly important. Narrowing protection gaps needs to become an economic policy goal.

“The economic upswing expected in 2021 and 2022 is on track to materialise, and this is a key factor for insurance premium growth across the globe. The main market to watch is China, where both economic and premium growth continue at a strong pace. Consumer awareness is clearly an important growth driver and this has been driven by the pandemic. Whether it is private medical insurance or supply chain interruption for businesses, people have become much more aware of what insurance is, and how it can help them to emerge resilient from such a crisis.”

John Chen, President of Swiss Re China, added, “The Chinese economic bounce-back will drive the recovery of the world economy and boost the development of the insurance industry in China, which will further improve the societal resilience and enable the high-quality development of both the insurance industry and the Chinese economy.

The 14th Five-Year Plan and other ambitious goals have outlined great growth opportunities and space for innovation. The carbon neutrality target is another key driver that enables the insurance industry to contribute more to the sustainable development of the economy. Swiss Re will continue to work with our partners and clients to close protection gaps and build societal resilience.”

Whenever the insurance market grows at pace the need for reinsurance risk capital to support primary companies in doing their business also increases.

Premium growth is set to increase for property lines of business as well and over the coming years premium growth in protecting catastrophe exposed property could be a major opportunity for third-party capital to support traditional companies in taking some of that risk off their books.

Aligned with this, climate risk perception is rapidly increasing and could also result in a shedding of risk by asset owners, holders and also insurers, with the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market and capital market investors well-positioned to assist and benefit from these trends.

Over recent years we have seen some companies shifting more catastrophe and climate related risks onto external capital partners and with premiums set to expand in insurance, along with new opportunities and business classes set to emerge, there is a strong chance traditional re/insurers look for even more capital support for their peak risks, to enable them to free up funding to underwrite emerging classes of risk and growth opportunities.

Patoma Admin by — July 16, 2021 in Insurance 0
Oyegunle thanks Naicom, elders, chairmen of councils, others for CIIN @ 50th anniversary

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

The president of Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN), Sir. Muftau Oyegunle expressed the institute’s appreciation of the feasible support and cooperation of council members, elders of the institute, chairmen and members of committee of council, National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), professional colleagues for making the CIIN what it is today.

While presenting his scorecard (CIIN) for one year, Oyegunle,  did the presentation at the institute’s 50th Annual General Meeting (AGM) today in Lagos.

According to him, “In spite challenges thrown-up by the COVID-19 pandemic, his administration was able to deliver on six key initiatives which are: Digital transformation of the institute; re-energizing the institute’s administrative structure; reinforcement of of the relevance of professionalism; insurance awareness and youth mentorship; infrastructural development and advocacy and collaboration with various associations in the private sector.

He noted that presiding over the affairs of the institute for the past 12 months has been a great task, but his team has achieved to a large extent the set objectives despite the raging COVID-19 pandemic.

He submitted that his sincere desire and commitment to serve the great institute had been the driving force that kept him going amid all odds to achieve set goals.


L – Yetunde Ilori, Treasurer, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN); Muftau Oyegunle, President/Chairman of Council; Abimbola Tiamiyu, Director General/Secretary to Council; Edwin Igbiti, Deputy President, and Segun Balogun, representing Chairman election committee, during the institute’s 50th annual general meeting in Lagos on Wednesday.
From left: Muftau Oyegunle, President/Chairman of Council, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN); Abimbola Tiamiyu, Director General/Secretary to Council, and Edwin Igbiti, Deputy President, during the institute’s 50th annual general meeting in Lagos on Wednesday
Patoma Admin by — July 15, 2021 in Insurance 0
Retail business Key to huge insurance penetration, Mutual Benefit

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

 

For insurance industry to experience huge penertration, the sector needs to intensifies its retail business

The Management of Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc stated this when the executive members of the National Association of Insurance and Pension Correspondents (NAIPCO) paid the company a courtesy in Lagos yesterday.

The managing director/CEO, Femi Asenuga, noted that the insurance penetration rate is still an eyesore when compared to the huge population of the country, believing that, it is high time underwriters begin to focus more on grassroots through retail insurance businesses.

He stated that, a huge underbanked and unbanked Nigerians exist in the informal sector of which insurance firms can leverage to bring them into the financial service space.

To this end, he said, this has been the ultimate goal of Mutual Benefits right from inception, a development that has made the firm a reference point for investors and stakeholders in the area of micro insurance.

According to him, “We are restless when it comes to insuring the underserved and unserved Nigerians with financial solutions in the area of risk business in the country”

“We have become a reference point in retail business in the country and we are a reference point for investors.”

On product development, he said: “we are restless when it comes to product development. Years ago, we got approval for 36 products; this has never been done by any company in Nigeria.”

He assured that the company is not tired because there are still much to be covered.

He urged the media to keep the good work of deepening insurance awareness and sensitisation through informed and qualitative reporting, promising that, the firm was ready to assist the association in this regards.

Similarly, the managing director/CEO, Mutual Benefits Life Assurance Limited, Mr. Ademola Ifagbayi, promised that the underwriting firm will continue to piortise its claims obligations, stating that, the firm had paid several billions of naira in claims in recent years, which was a testament of its fidelity.

He called on Nigerians to patronise the firm for their insurance business, even as the company had invested in technology to continue to serve customers better and wherever they are.

Earlier, the chairman, NAIPCO, Mr. Chuks Udo Okonta, had reeled out the plans of the association to the management, which includes; the bi-annual NAIPCO Journal, Annual National Conference, Product Profiling, Advert to News Initiative, among others.

He said all these initiatives were tilted towards raising insurance awareness, calling for support of the assurance firms on these initiatives.

National Insurance and Pension Correspondents, NAIPCO president, Mr Chuks Okonta greeting the team of Mutual Benefit Assurance led their MD, Mr. Femi Asenuga, who welcome NAIPCO executives to the company
Patoma Admin by — July 14, 2021 in Insurance 0
Morocco’s largest insurance company expands to Egypt

By admin

 

 

Denver- Wafa Assurance, currently the leading insurance company in Morocco, announced it will soon expand into Egypt. Through new business operations, the company plans to extend its reach internationally.

Wafa was created as a subsidiary of Attijariwafa Bank and is headquartered in Casablanca. In its expansion announcement, Wafa appointed Abeer Helmy Saleh as the chief executive of Wafa Life Insurance Egypt.

Wafa’s CEO, Mohamed Ramses Arroub, stated Egypt was “on top of Wafa Assurance’s priorities,” and the company officially received approval by the Egyptian Financial Regulatory Authority to conduct business in the country in August 2020.

Wafa Life Insurance Egypt currently has a valuation of $9.5 million, but that number is expected to quickly grow. The African insurance industry is experiencing rapid growth, and current estimates put the value at approximately $68 billion. The North African market represents the second most valuable sector in the region, after South Africa.

The new expansion will offer tremendous potential growth opportunities for both the Moroccan and Egyptian divisions. Wafa Life Insurance Egypt will have the opportunity to utilize Wafa Assurance’s “successful digital transformation” to facilitate its new operations in Egypt

Conversely, Wafa Assurance expects to rely “on the skills of the Egyptian subsidiary” to expand into English speaking countries across the continent. Wafa currently operates ten companies in six countries throughout Africa, controlling 39 percent of the insurance sector. But reports indicate the group has set a goal of expanding into four additional countries and controlling 65% of the market within the next four years.

Wafa Assurance and its parent company Attijariwafa are both part of the National Holding Company (SNI), a large private investment firm mainly owned by King Mohammed VI and members of the royal family.

Patoma Admin by — July 13, 2021 in Insurance 0
Cyber insurance premium to reach $9bn in 2021

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

 

 

The global cyber insurance premiums are forecast to increase by a further 27 percent in 2021 to reach almost $9bn of gross written premium.

The cyber unsurance grew by 34 percent last year after slow growth of just 4% in 2019, with gross written premiums topping $7bn in 2020

Strong double-digit premium increases will drive the cyber insurance market to $20.6bn by 2025, GlobalData says, adding that the market is expected to “thrive” after Covid-19 as demand takes off.

“Cybersecurity was thrust into the spotlight in 2020 as the Covid-19 pandemic forced businesses to digitalise their processes and adopt remote working practices overnight,” GlobalData states.

It adds that cybercriminals were quick to exploit global panic and highlighted the need for businesses to have insurance protection in place.

“But the market is not as easy to navigate as it once was,” GlobalData says. Up to now, buyers have had the pick of the market as new capacity clamoured for business, coupled with flat rates and high levels of cover.

But GlobalData says the market has fundamentally changed in the aftermath of Covid-19, along with the associated increase in cyber risks and exposure to large losses.

Ben Carey-Evans, insurance analyst at GlobalData, commented: “Covid-19 has also brought about a permanent shift in the way businesses and consumers operate, with remote working practices set to stay and digital consumer channels seeing more use than before the pandemic.

This lasting shift in behaviour will push the demand for both commercial cyber insurance and, to a lesser extent, personal cyber insurance in the coming years.”

Today’s buyers are facing tighter restrictions on cyber cover and higher premium rates, but Mr Carey-Evans said the cyber insurance market is expected to continue on a strong growth trajectory during the next five years.

“The need for robust cybersecurity and cyber insurance is becoming apparent to businesses of all types and sizes, as the frequency and severity of cyberattacks continues to rise,” he said.

Patoma Admin by — July 12, 2021 in Insurance 0
African Alliance’s business continuity sustains through Covid-19

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

The management of African Alliance Insurance Plc said the business continuity management process in place sustain the company even in the heat of Covid-19.

Managing Director of the company, Mrs. Joyce Ojemudia revealed this at the recent Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the National Association of Insurance and Pension Correspondents(NAIPCO), in which African Alliance sponsored, in Lagos last weekend.

Represented by the company’s Head of Marketing, Mr. Emmanuel Eburajolo, at the AGM, Ojemudia stated that, “Covid-19 came unexpectedly, with a lot of challenges and many companies were caught unaware.

However, in African Alliance, the impact was minimal because we already had a Business Continuity Management process in place, so, the company was prepared.

“We had a process that was digitally enabled and this aided the smooth continuation of our business and services with customers even when some companies were still grappling with the situation and trying to find their feet.”

The insurer’s boss, however, urged the media to collaborate with the insurance industry for enhanced insurance awareness in Nigeria.

According to her, “We all agree you are the loudspeakers of our industry. Without you, whatever goes on in our industry would go largely unnoticed and unreported, pretty much like someone winking in the dark”

“But this is not an easy task, being gatekeepers for an industry that is older than Nigeria as we know it, with various interests and mindsets.

However, someone has to do it, and I daresay you are doing very well. But can we do better? Yes we can. Even the best of outcomes can get better.”

Patoma Admin by — July 12, 2021 in Insurance 0
African Alliance calls for customer focused collaboration with Media

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

Africa Alliance has urged the Media to collaborate with the insurance industry for a more customer focused to propagate insurance to nooks and crannies.

The managing director at African Alliance Insurance Plc, Mrs Joyce Ojemudia, made charged during the Annual General Meeting if National Insurance & Pension Correspondents held in Lagos today.

Represented by the Head Marketing, Mr. Emmanuel Eburajolo, Ojumedia implored the media to create a customer-focused collaboration that leans on working with students to spread the gospel of insurance and creating digital vibrancy that encourage virality.

Ojemudia pointed out that the members of the association to the insurance students association of universities that NAIPCO can collaborate with to enhance insurance awareness.

She also commented on the digital adoption which she noted “is taking better roots” but much more areas of virality she advised should be explored in the digital space.

The African Alliance MD advised website owners to optimise sites by embracing a viable email marketing tool to drive traffic to these sites and encourage virality and have an active and social media presence.

Patoma Admin by — July 8, 2021 in Insurance 0
Faces @ NAIPCO 2021 AGM in Lagos

CAPTIONS:

L –  Chairman, National Association of Insurance and Pension Correspondents (NAIPCO), Chuks Udo Okonta; Head of Marketing, African Alliance Insurance Plc, Emmanuel Eburajola; Vice Chairman, NAIPCO, Ngozi Onyeakusi; Head, Brand, Media & Communications, African Alliance Insurance, Bankole Banjo, and Brand, Media & Communications Executive, African Alliance Insurance, Ganiyat Momoh, at the 2021 annual general meeting of NAIPCO in Lagos on Thursday.

L- General Secretary, National Association of Insurance and Pension Correspondents (NAIPCO), Zaka Khaliq; Chairman, Chuks Udo Okonta, and Vice Chairman, NAIPCO, Ngozi Onyeakusi, during the association’s 2021 annual general meeting in Lagos on Thursday.

Patoma Admin by — July 8, 2021 in Insurance 0