Foremost life insurer, African Alliance Insurance Plc, has posted a 41 per cent rise in her gross premium written (GPW) for the 2019 financial year.
Analysis of the financial statement showed that the 60-year-old company recorded N7.29 billion premium in 2019 against N5.17 billion in 2018 indicating a 41 per cent growth year on year, while its life fund increased by 16 per cent from N38.99 billion to N45.33 billion in the same period under review.
On claims settlement, the firm demonstrated relentless commitment to its teeming consumers by paying claims of N9.36 billion as against N8.78 billion the previous year, representing a 7 per cent year-on-year rise.
According to the firm, the increase in both premium generated and the life fund lend credence to its strong customer base, continued acceptance as well as a robust sales drive across both retail and corporate lines of business.
Speaking on the financials, the Executive Director, Finance, Olabisi Adekola, credited the revenue increase to shrewd underwriting and better communication of the value of insurance to the retail market.
“We have grown our retail business to become much more profitable and have supported their sales efforts with targeted communication both above the line and below the line. Unfortunately, while we obviously made more sales, we paid much more claims which impacted negatively on our balance sheet.
“The bulk of our claims was in annuity, the business of which has been affected by our operating environment vis-à-vis the average market rate and limited investment vehicles. We all know annuity business is basically about hedging assets against contract liabilities. So when the market forces are unfavourable, returns on investment will be affected too.”
Adekola expressed confidence in the firm’s ability to turn the bend going by its corporate strategy.
“Our strategy has been to keep growing our market share via aggressive sales drive, adoption of digital technology and capital injection.”