| We
turned Unisure from loss to mega profit firm - MD
By OBIDIKE JERRY
Saturday, February
9, 2008
 |
•Cyril
Ajagu
Photo: Sun News Publishing |
| |
Recapitalissation of companies in the financial sector has
continued to yield its fruits to managers, investors and the
entire society. This is very true in the investment portfolio
and capital base of Universal Insurance Plc. which sprang
from loss to a mega profit firm after consolidation.
The company, one of the strongest in the insrance sphere today
has even taken further initiatives to ensure its surplus capital
is divested into other sectors for better standing. As a result,
it has veered into construction, oil and gas, real estate,
civil construction and maritime.
The MD of the company, Engr. Cyril Ajagu revealed these feats
in an interview with Saturday Sun recently and even boasted
that there is no stopping Unsiure in its objective to be the
top of the insurance sector with the plans it has on ground.
Found in tatters
Engr. Ajagu, the Unisure GMD company says the policy statement
of Unisure where her word remains her bond has been one of
the reasons the company is growing in leaps and bounds.
“In Unisure we say our word is our bond and that has
kept us on. The word ‘universal’ means we are
going to go round the world. As salvation of God goes round
the world, this company is going to go round the world. The
company was formed in 1961 by the government of the eastern
region. We have sustained it and the vision is blossoming
during our own time and we are happy God is using us to make
it happen.
Revival
When we got into Unisure as core investors, it had been in
losses for the past 10 years. But God on our side we were
able to turn it around. Within the first one year we stopped
the losses and later made a profit of N9 million. We increased
the profit the following year, 2005. In the same 2005, capitalization
was announced. It was not easy coming from losses to another
capitalization after the initial one that brought back the
company from the brink. But to the glory of the Almighty God
we were able to recapitalize and also acquired three other
companies and to date Universal Insurance Plc. is second to
none in Nigeria – in terms of asset base, liquidity,
strategic performance and diversification of products.
In the Universal group, we do not only do insurance. Insurance
is only our flagship. But for you to do good insurance in
this world don’t forget that God who created this world
has actually insured the world before creation. What we do
in universal is creation of niches within the human elements.
Truth is our watchword, that is integrity. We do not take
on risks that we know we are not capable of delivering upon.
Any risk we take we normally distribute. It is normal in insurance
to distribute and then split your share and your risk with
the re-insurance. We have a reinsurance treaty with one of
the foremost reinsurance company in this country, AfricaRe
and we have some of our reinsurance outside the country and
then with other three re-insurance companies including Global-Re.
Apart from that we still spread our risks with other insurance
companies, so that at any point in time any risk we take,
we pay it off if claims come.
A mega group
Universal is going places. We are into small and medium scale
industries through our affiliate sister companies because
we want to have a feel of what it takes to bring back the
middle class that was lost in Nigeria. And in bringing this
middle class you need to have a feel of it. It is not a case
of jack of all trade and master of none. We hire expertise
and we get professionals to run a particular area.
Before I even went to school, I come from a family of business
people. My father is a major contractor. He built the first
estate in Asaba. So, at the age of 15 I already knew how to
build houses and took that on even through my university.
During my university course and during vacations, myself and
my brother spent our holidays working with the people in the
bush - the carpenters, bricklayers. We carried cement and
learnt how to mould blocks.
At home our mother taught us how to fry garri, fry beans,
clean the house etc. So both home and outside we were meant
to be round pegs in round holes. In case of anything you fall
back to anything you can do. That is what I have brought to
Universal. I never read Insurance. My getting into insurance
was divine. From Port Harcourt to Enugu with my colleagues
as core investors and then we were able to turn it around
and to bring it back to what it is.
Lateral integration
We are into real estate, small and medium scale enterprise,
hotel and so on. We create lateral integration of the aspects
so that cost effectiveness will be there. We have paints,
aluminum and doors factories. With good management and staff,
you can get cement and mould blocks and lay a good foundation.
Because the estate we are trying to do is about 200 duplexes
and about 60 bungalows. We are classifying it in terms of
low and medium and rich class. It will have a helipad, hospitals
recreation and hotel.
Before vision 2020
Back when I was in Shell I knew that Shell built its own estate
about 50 years ago. I said to myself if Shell could do this
50 years ago, Nigerians could do something much better now.
And I belong to that group of Nigerians who believe that we
have got the same brain - and we can do much better. All we
need is to remove the poverty of the mind, poverty of the
brain and poverty of the stomach. And then be spiritually
conscious and focused so that even before the 2020, Nigerians
can attain one of the twenty biggest economies of the world.
Market position
I don’t want to say anything too specific about that,
but simply I would say we are second to none. We are not number
one and I will say we are obviously within the first three
brackets. But I cannot mention anyone to be on top of us,
for reasons being that Universal as the name implies, is a
company that will go round the world. Within here, we are
not so much into the market making noise. We don’t play
to the gallery. We believe that the truth will always prevail.
Consciousness in terms of insurance among the citizenry in
Nigeria is quite low. So, we try to build it up because a
lot of people who did insurance in the past were not too sincere.
They were basically charlatans. It is not only in insurance
you have such in engineering, law, medicine, journalism and
so on. But any place you find yourself, try to leave a legacy
on the sands of time. Universal is poised to do that. So I
do insurance with engineering dimension. And that is why we
are putting a lot of things into it. That is why we have a
different group.
Risk Portfolio
We don’t take on any risk that we think is not necessary.
It does not mean we are averse to risk but we advise the client,
and say no this is what you want to do, this is how it is
going to be done. We don’t just take your money. If
someone wants to take a life insurance, we would want to see
the person’s traveling rate, we want to know the kind
of job he does, and advice on how to make it better. If one
wants to go on transit, we want to know the goods. We must
check the road a customer is going to take goods through and
say this road is not okay. Why don’t you take this one
or why don’t you use train. So, in terms of insurance
we are going into the nitty gritty of it.
Image building.
We are going to show the world that yes good things can actually
come from Nigeria and it is already coming out. In London
I said so before we acquired three companies. I thank God
for what He used us to do and He is still doing it. We have
got our branches in different parts of the country. Our intention
is not to have branches in all the towns in this country,
but to spread awareness and affect lives and make people know
you cannot shake hands without insurance in this country.
You cannot do anything without insurance.
We don’t owe claims
Government should pay the insurance. Individuals should pay
the insurance. And then when you have a claim you should go
and get your claims immediately with dispatch. We don’t
owe claims here. We certainly don’t owe claims. I can
be quoted that we are one of the insurance companies with
least claims portfolio in this country.
Local content /off share insurance
Yes, we are already into it. We are already into NNPC accounts.
We are trying to get into other oil companies. We have stints
with the majors. Before now all the major insurance was done
abroad. Because of our asset base, shareholders fund, cash
(liquid) base we handle them locally now. But again much more
than that is because Nigeria does not want to grow. When we
say Nigeria doesn’t want to grow we mean the individuals.
If you are fixated in your mind and you don’t believe
in yourself how will you believe in your country? We believe
and that is why I am happy with the economic reform. You can
hear Nigeria talking about being among the 20 world biggest
economies in 2020. That is something wonderful. I am saying
that even before 2020 if we put our priorities right, there’s
nothing stopping us from getting there in the next 10 years.
Recapitalization and consolidation
It is wonderful. We are re-certified, we are reconsolidated
and that is why we acquired three companies. If we were not
capable of consolidating then how do you acquire? You should
carry yourself before you carry other people. But we believe
the system corrects itself. Everything works together for
good for all of us. I think we are all going to come out fine
and better – the regulatory authority will come out
better - the insurance industry will come out better, Nigeria
will come out better. But the earlier it is done the better
for all of us because nobody waits for anyone. So, nobody
will wait for you in this world for you to be rigmaroling.
Whatever it is, we should just get it right and I pray it
will soon come to an end and I believe that within this month
it should be sorted out. But we are totally recapitalized,
consolidated in our general business. We have 50% equity in
what we call Universal/African Alliance. We brought our portfolio
50-50 to form another company. In Universal alone, we have
500% and we took on Oriental and African Safety and a couple
of companies are still angling for us to acquire them. But
the problem about acquisition is that you have to strategize
very well before you acquire to turn it around. You don’t
just acquire for the sake of it. You acquire because you want
to change a lot of things and bring them to profitability.
And as I speak to you right from the time when we acquired
all these company up to date, we have turned all into a profitable
ones inside the Universal family. |
