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AXA Singapore to be acquired by HSBC for $575 m

By admin

Global insurer AXA has entered into an agreement with HSBC Insurance (Asia-Pacific) Holdings Ltd over the sale of AXA Insurance Pte Ltd (AXA Singapore) for a total cash consideration of USD 575 million (€487mn).

axa-logoIt was reported back in January that British bank HSBC Holdings was among the shortlisted bidders for AXA’s Singapore operations.

AXA Singapore is a composite insurance carrier, offering L&S, Health, and P&C solutions to ca. 1 million clients. In Singapore, the firm is ranked as 8th in the life insurance sector with a 2% market share, and 5th in the P&C space, with a 4% market share.

The sale of AXA Singapore to HSBC is estimated to result in a negative net income impact of ca. €160 million in AXA Group’s FY 2021 consolidated financial results.

Gordon Watson, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of AXA in Asia and in Africa, commented: “This transaction is another step in AXA’s simplification journey.

“In line with the Group’s strategy, we are focusing on our core markets where we have the size,

presence in the right business segments and a strong potential to grow. We have in Asia a unique set of assets across established and high potential markets where we are deploying our vision, notably in health and protection, bringing high value products and services to our customers.

“I would like to thank the management team and all the employees of AXA Singapore for their strong contribution and commitment over the years and wish them every success for the future.”

The deal remains subject to closing conditions and is expected to close by the fourth quarter of 2021.

by Patoma Admin — August 18, 2021 in Insurance 0

Allianz Life Bermuda fined $1.7m by Bermuda Monetary Authority

By admin

Allianz Life Bermuda has been fined $1.7m for significant breaches of anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing regulations, and is to go into liquidation.

The Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) said it has imposed civil penalties totalling $1,700,000 on Allianz Life Bermuda “pursuant to sections 20 and 24A of the Proceeds of Crime (Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Supervision and Enforcement) Act 2008 and section 32A of the Insurance Act 1978 with respect to significant breaches of the Proceeds of Crime (Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing) Regulations 2008, International Sanctions Regulations 2013 and longstanding and persistent breaches of the Insurance Act.”

The BMA said the company has accepted its findings and has consented to and paid the civil penalties, and has further agreed to continue with its plan to cancel its registration under the Insurance Act and commence liquidation proceedings.

Allianz Life Bermuda was incorporated in Bermuda in 1976 and licensed as an insurer since 1981, and holds a Class 3 licence and Long-Term Class C licence. It was engaged in the insurance and reinsurance of life and long-term risks, which were written outside of Bermuda.

The BMA said: “The civil penalties have been imposed for the company’s failure to adequately comply with the following requirements of the regulations and the sanctions: i) regulation 16 – systems; ii) regulations 5 and 6 – customer due diligence; iii) regulation 8 – timing of verification; iv) regulation 7 – ongoing monitoring; v) regulation 11 – enhanced due diligence; vi) regulation 14a – outsourcing; vii) regulation 17a – independent audit functions; and viii) sanctions – reporting requirements.”

It added that while it found no evidence of money laundering or terrorist financing, the BMA required the company to remediate the findings within a prescribed time period, but this was not completed to the satisfaction of the Authority.

“The Authority views these breaches as serious because of their extent and duration, and because they demonstrated a weakness of the company’s controls to ensure full compliance with the regulations and sanctions,” said the BMA.

“The company has demonstrated a pattern of non-compliance with the Insurance Act, which contributed, in part, to the company’s failure to have a resident director in Bermuda at all times, no regular Bermuda decision-making meetings nor management to ensure that the company’s annual filings under the Insurance Act were accurate, adequate and timely,” said the BMA.

“Further, the Authority determined that the company’s corporate administration was not being carried on with the professional skills appropriate to the nature, scale and complexity of its activities.”

by Patoma Admin — August 18, 2021 in Insurance 0

Ivory Coast: Insurance market grows by 6% to over US$740m in 2020

By admin

The insurance market in Ivory Coast posted a total turnover of FCFA415bn ($743m) in 2020, with the non-life sector accounting for FCFA232bn (56 percent) and the life sector, FCFA183bn (44 percent).

With these figures, the Ivorian insurance market is approaching the standards of the major insurance markets where life insurance dominates the industry ahead of non-life insurance, according to Mr Mamadou GK Kone, chairman of the Association of Insurance Companies of Ivory Coast (ASACI).
In an exclusive interview with Financial Afrik, he said, ”The market has achieved, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, a growth rate of 6 percent including 8.6 percent for the life branch and 4% for the non-life branch. We can therefore see that the life branch grew faster in 2020 than the non-life branch. This is not an isolated trend insofar as, over the last 10 years, the life branch has experienced an average annual growth rate of 9 percent against 8% for the non-life branch.”

The insurance penetration rate in Ivory Coast is 1.3 percent. Mr Kone said, “It is very low compared to the enormous potential for growth in insurance premiums in the country. The penetration rate is around 10 percent in countries like France and 13 percent for South Africa due to pension insurance. We are at 1.3 percent and there is no need to say that the gap is huge.”

Ivory Coast has 32 insurance companies operating in it, comprising 11 life insurers and 21 non-life insurers.

by Patoma Admin — August 18, 2021 in Insurance 0

47th AIO: LOC follows template, Covid-19 protocols for General Assembly/Confab

By Favour Nnabugwu

Twenty-one years after the country hosted the African Insurance h General Assembly/conference is again set to host the 47th AIO with all Covid-19 protocols duly followed.and guided by the organisation’s template

The event which will take place at Eko Hotels & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos with delegate from over 50 countries.

Chairman, Local Organising Committee (LOC) of AIO 2021, Mrs. Ebelechukwu Nwachukwu, during the virtual press conference, said the conference was scheduled to hold last year, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the AIO Secretariat in conjunction with the local organising committee decided to hold it this year as a hybrid event to cater for those who will not be able to attend physically.

“We need to emphasize that in planning this conference at this time we have taken full cognizance of all the health protocols and restrictions on public gathering, hence the decision to make it a hybrid event.

“To give further impetus to this decision, we are limiting the number of physical attendees while others are being encouraged to take advantage of the virtual conference toparticipate from their different locations. For physical attendees, all COVID-19 protocols will be observed and implemented to the letter,” she said.

Mrs. Nwachukwu maintained that the LOC has carefully followed the template provided by AIO Secretariat in planning the conference, whilst assuring that they are prepared to host the best and most memorable conference.

She thanked the Commissioner for Insurance, Olorundare Sunday Thomas who has been working assiduously and liaising with the various ministries and agencies to ensure that the organisers get the full support from the government.

“The Honourable Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning has also been very supportive of our efforts, and we owe her a lot of appreciation for the letter of comfort which was the first requirement from AIO as proof that we have the support of the government to host the conference,” she posited.

According to her, one of the major highlights of the 47th Conference will be the assumption of office by the immediate past Chairman of the Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) and Group managing Director of NEM Insurance Plc, Tope Smart as the next president of the pan African organisation for the next one year, adding that he deserves the support and good wishes of all insurance operators.

“There is no doubt that COVID-19 pandemic had left in its trail, very debilitating effects on many economies and there are efforts at addressing these challenges. This informed the decision of the LOC to use the opportunity of the 47th AIO conference to contribute to discussions around how insurance can contribute to ongoing efforts at rebuilding economies seriously impacted by the pandemic.

“The above informed the theme of this year’s conference which is: Rebuilding Africa’s Economy: An Insurance Perspective. We also have four other subtopics to address other contemporary issues affecting the insurance industry and they include the following: The new normal: How leaders can reset for growth beyond COVID-19. Regulation, innovation and the future of insurance. Harnessing the potential for growth and development in the Nigerian insurance marketn and AfCFTA and the African Insurer: Prospects and Opportunities,” she submitted.

She remarked that the LOC, is working in cohort with the AIO Secretariat has assembled a strong faculty to deliver the different papers from the main conference theme to the sub-topics, adding that the the resource persons include Jakkie Cilliers of the Institute of Security Studies, South Africa; Belhassen Tanat of Munich Re.; Yinka Sanni of Standard Bank Group and Tawiah Ben-Ahmed of Metropolitan Life Insurance, Ghana.

She maintained that the AIO conference will also include the Life Seminar and all related activities, stressing that the hosting of the AIO conference is significant to insurers. “Apart from the opportunity to showcase our rich culture and hospitality, it will also be a great opportunity to correct some of the misconceptions about Nigeria and her people,” she added.

by Patoma Admin — August 17, 2021 in Insurance 0

Nigeria’s unclaimed dividends increase to N170bn

The

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday said the total unclaimed dividends in the Nigerian capital market stood at N170 billion as of December 2020.

The Director-General, SEC, Mr Lamido Yuguda, said this at the second post-Capital Market Committee (CMC) virtual news conference.

Yuguda said the figure had increased compared with N158.44 billion total unclaimed dividends as of December 2019
He attributed the rising figure to identity management and multiple subscriptions of investors.

“We have problems with identity management in the Nigerian capital market and this is really one of the things the commission is trying to resolve.

“We have set up a high powered committee to look at the issue, people bought shares under false names and multiple subscriptions.
There is a problem with the process but there is a problem with us too as people because if you are buying securities using your own wealth; why will you use another persons name, why will you use a name that will not be traceable to you?

“This became an issue after the introduction of BVN because BVN is tied to only one name,” Yuguda said.

He noted that the commission constituted a Committee on Identity Management for the Nigerian Capital Market in June in order to address the unclaimed dividend issue.

The committee is chaired by Mr Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede and is expected to harmonise various databases of investors, and facilitate data accuracy in the market.

“We are optimistic that the outcome of this committee’s assignment would address the challenges of identity management and help resolve some of the issues we face in the areas of unclaimed dividend, direct cash settlement and multiple subscription,” he added.

On the Electronic Dividend Mandate Management System (e-DMMS) portal, Yuguda said the total number of mandated and approved accounts from its inception in 2016 to July 2021 stood at 1,144,970.
He explained that the COVID-19 pandemic affected the registration exercise.

Yuguda said members of the CMC had adopted some measures to increase the number of mandated investors on the e-DMMS and reduce the quantum of unclaimed dividends in the market.

He listed the measures as; automation for mandating to e-DMMS, increased monitoring of adherence to procedures and increased awareness campaigns on the initiative.
Yuguda added that a training session would be organised by the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS); to be supported by the e-DMMS technical committee, Institute of Capital Market Registrars (ICMR) and Association of Securities Dealing Houses of Nigeria.

He said a study to determine the suitability of the CSCS to process dividends of investors in unlisted companies would also be conducted

by Patoma Admin — August 14, 2021 in Banking & Finance 0

Mutual Benefit Assurance total assets hit N82.87bn in 2020

By Favour Nnabugwu

Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc has sai the company’s total assets rise by 22 percent to N82.87 billion in 2020 from N67.78 billion in 2019, following the capital injection of N4.80 billion

The company also recorded 70 per cent rise in total equity from N14.53 billion in 2019 to N24.69 billion in 2020 while it generated N19.98 billion gross premium written in 2020, which amounted to a growth of the seven per cent.

The Chairman of the Company, Dr. Akin Ogunbiyi, disclosed this at the company’s 25th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held virtualy, adding that in spite the headwinds posed by COVID-19 pandemic, the group gross premium written (GPW) moved from N18.70 billion in 2019 to N19.98 billion in 2020.

He said the performance was largely driven by a 12 per cent growth in the firm’s non-life insurance business, which moved from N10.17 billion in 2019 to N11.35 billion in 2020.

Dr. Ogunbiyi maintained that the group also recorded a five per cent increase in net premium income from N15.29 billion in 2019 to N16.08billion in 2020.

He posited that an adverse claims experience resulted in a 32 per cent decline in underwriting profit, from N5.40 billion in 2019 to N3.68 billion in 2020.

The MBA Plc Chairman, noted that the drop in underwriting profit was offset by impressive investing activities and improved cost controls, leading to a 34 per cent rise in Profit before Tax..

Ogunbiyi said 2021 presents another opportunity to consolidate on the tremendous feats made towards becoming the one-stop shop for provision of financial services solutions in all the company’s countries of operations.

He maintained that even as the business environment remains challenging due to economic uncertainty, the firm’s diversified business model, strong capital position and highly qualified and committed
employees, provide the solid base for profitable and resilient growth.

Patoma Media Concepts

by Patoma Admin — August 14, 2021 in Insurance 0

Global insured cat losses hit $42bn in H1 2021: Swiss Re’s Sigma report

By admin

Global catatrophic osses for the first half of 2021 has reached $40 billion, driven by a deep winter freeze, hailstorms and wildfires, according to Swiss Re Institutes’ preliminary sigma report.

This is above the previous ten-year average and is only exceeded by H1 2011, when major earthquakes in Japan and New Zealand pushed the six-month total to $104 billion.

Man-made disasters triggered another estimated $2 billion of insured losses in the first half this year, less than usual and likely reflecting remaining COVID-19 restrictions.

“The effects of climate change are manifesting in warmer temperatures, rising sea levels, more erratic rainfall patterns and greater weather extremes,” said Martin Bertogg, Head of Cat Perils at Swiss Re.

Taken together with rapid urban development and accumulation of wealth in disaster-prone areas, secondary perils, such as winter storms, hail, floods or wildfires, lead to ever higher catastrophe losses.

“The experience so far in 2021 underscores the growing risks of these perils, exposing ever larger communities to extreme climate events. For example, winter storm Uri reached the loss magnitude that peak perils like hurricanes can wreak.

“The insurance industry needs to upscale its risk assessment capabilities for these lesser monitored perils to maintain and expand its contribution to financial resilience.“

Global economic losses from disaster events are estimated at $77 billion in the first half of 2021. This is below average for the past ten years

Swiss Re notes that the economic loss figure is expected to rise as more losses are accounted for in the coming months. The first half of the year is also not representative of the full-year figures.

Of the total estimated economic losses in the first half of 2021, $74 billion were caused by natural catastrophes, while man-made disasters triggered an additional $3 billion.

“Climate change is one of the biggest risks facing society and the global economy,” said Jérôme Jean Haegeli, Swiss Re’s Group Chief Economist.

“The recent analysis from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change confirms expectations of more extreme weather in the future and urgency to act to limit global warming.

“Working with the public sector, the re/insurance industry plays a key role in helping to strengthen communities’ resilience by steering development away from high-risk areas, making adaptation investments, maintaining insurability of assets and narrowing protection gaps.“

by Patoma Admin — August 13, 2021 in Insurance 0

AIICO Insurance maintains deliberate collaboration with Insurance, Pensions Journalists

By Favour Nnabugwu

The Managing Director of AIICO Insurance Plc, Mr Babatunde Fajemirokun, has said the company ensure a deliberate and sustained collaborative partnership with members of NAIPCO to build their capacity for enhanced performance.

Fajemirokun said the company is passionate about National Association of Insurance & Pension Correspondents, NAIPCO and its critical roles in the growth of the industry, adding that, “we are committed to working with you to achieve your objectives as highlighted to us in your proposal.”

“We are always passionate about NAIPCO. Whenever issues are raised about NAIPCO, we always think of how to work together because of your critical role as a purveyor of information.”

Represented by Head, Strategic Marketing and Communications Department, Mr. Segun Olalandu, commended the efforts of NAIPCO in creating awareness and educating the public on the benefits and advantages of insurance as a risk-mitigating mechanism and a tool for poverty alleviation and wealth creation, also stressed the prime place of the media in nation-building.

While describing NAIPCO as a “very important association and strategic” for the nation’s insurance industry, he assured the Association of his company’s continued supports..

The training workshop, theme “Financial Understanding And Analysis” is aimed at building journalists’ capacity and broadening their knowledge in the industry’s financial reporting.

Earlier in his opening remarks, the Chairman of NAIPCO and Publisher of Inspen Online, Chuks Udo Okonta, commended AIICO for their support and pledged the Association’s commitment to work with AIICO for actualization of its corporate objectives.

“We are here today because of you. We will never take this for granted. We will ensure that knowledge gained in this training today is used for the growth of the industry. We are indeed grateful.

by Patoma Admin — August 13, 2021 in Insurance 0

Faces @ AIICO sponsored training for Insurance, Pension Correspondents in Lagos

AIICO Insurance sponsored a one-day training programme for National Association of Insurance &Pension Correspondents, NAIPCO in Lagos.

CAPTION

L- Training facilitator, Head, Investment Relation Department, Mr.Moyo Onanuga, AIICO Insurance PLC, President, National Association of Insurance and Pension Correspondents (NAIPCO. Mr Chuks Okonta) and Head, Strategic Marketing and Corporate Communications, Mr. Segun Olalandu of AIICO during a training workshop organised by AIICO for NAIPCO in Lagos today.

by Patoma Admin — August 12, 2021 in Insurance 0

Unitrust Insurance delivers on key metrics as it clocks 35 years

Unitrust Insurance Company Limited, has delivered on outstanding performance across key metrics as it clocks 35 years.

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr John Ijerheime, while speaking on the 35 years anniversary, said the firm is a service-oriented company desirous of an intimate relationship with its customers by understanding the risk exposure inherent in their businesses and proffering solutions.

“Our approach is simple and does not Premise itself on any assumption, we operate in line with the core business ideals and values thereby satisfying our numerous customers. Unitrust prides itself on operational excellence which can be directly attributed to our highly competent work force,” he said.

He posited that the company’s business is driven by process digitalization and products innovation, stressing that Unitrust Insurance Co Ltd offers the right impetus for business growth.

Speaking on the companies performance in year 2020, he noted that the firm closed the year with a Gross Premium Written (GPW) of N3.98 billion, representing a year-on-year growth rate of 13 per cent during the corresponding period of 2019.

He maintained that the firm’s Profit After Tax (PAT) for the year stood at N747.172 million against recorded in 2019 and that in the same vein, the company’s underwriting profit improved significantly as the total of N802.194 million achieved from N 301.759 million reported in the 2019 financial year. The claims paid for the year was N1.08 billion, he said.

“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,” he added.

He noted that the company’s business growth model is driven by structural analysis of its strengths, weaknesses, opportunity, and Threats (SWOT) for responsive branding , irrespective of the challenging situations, stressing that the company had by the result, demonstrated its robust capacity and sustainable execution of its strategic growth plans.

Founded in 1981 whilst commencing service in 1986, Unitrust insurance was authorized by Corporate Affairs Commission RC- 42899 and National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) to effect and carryout contracts of general Insurance business under the following categorization; Motor, Marine & Aviation, Personal Accident &Travel Medical Assistant, Workmen Compensation/Employers Liability, Public/products Liability, Bonds, Burglary, Goods-in-Transit, Fidelity Guarantee, Professional Indemnity and Directors/ Occupiers Liability.

by Patoma Admin — August 12, 2021 in Insurance 0