AIICO promises partnership with NAIPCO to spread benefits of insurance

AIICO Insurance Plc, has promised partnership with the National Association of Insurance and Pension Correspondents (NAIPCO), to continue to propagate the benefits of insurance to all nooks and crannies of the country.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the company, Babatunde Fajemirokun, made the promise in his address at a workshop for members of the Association in Lagos.

The AIICO boss, represented by Head, Strategy, Marketing and Corporate Communication Department, Segun Olalandu, commended the Association’s consistent efforts in creating insurance awareness in both public and private sectors of the economy.

He said that the industry owe it a duty to support the Association to sustain the tempo of enlightenment to raise the level of insurance awareness in the country that is below one per cent. He assured the Association that AIICO as a corporate body will continue to support the programme of the Association to carry on the public enlightenment on insurance.

On recapitalisation, he said, the company has met and surpassed the 50% of the new capital threshold in the first phase of the segmented recapitalisation exercise whose deadline is December 31, 2020 for all insurance and reinsurance companies in the country.

Commenting on the firm’s 2020 third quarter operating results, Mr, Fajemirokun said it achieved a 27 per cent year-on-year growth in gross premiums written from N37.0 billion in Q3 2019 to N47.2 billion in Q3 2020, noting that the global and local macroeconomic headwinds have continued to test the resilience of the firm’s business, and operating models as well as its business continuity plans and the strength of its relationships with customers and partners.

According to him, “the increased contribution to profits from our general insurance and our asset management businesses highlight the strengths as a group. Our general business continues to enjoy the confidence and support of our customers, despite the effects of the pandemic. Our asset management business, AIICO Capital, continues to grow its client base while investing judiciously on behalf of its clients. Overall, profit before taxes reduced seven per cent year-on-year, from N5.0 billion in Q3 2019 to N4.7 billion in Q3 2020.

“Profit-after-taxes increased 17 per centyear-on-year to N5.2 billion for the interim period ended September 30, 2020 from N4.5 billion in the corresponding period in 2019,” he said. The total assets, he said increased 55 per cent year-to-date to N245.8 billion from N159.5 billion in December 2019 driven by an increase in financial assets, including cash and cash equivalents,” he added.

He noted that the financial assets increased because of the decline in investment yields and judicious investment of funds received for policies sold, maintaining that total liabilities increased 63 per cent to N212.6 billion from N130.6 billion in December 2019 driven mainly by increases in insurance contract liabilities (from the decline in yields and reserving for new businesses) and fixed income liabilities (3rd party funds under management) in our asset management business.

Total equity, he said grew 15 per cent year-to-date to N33.2 billion from N28.9 billion in December 2019.

“Our 3rd quarter results demonstrate that our business remains steady, despite the changing client preferences and risk exposures that have accompanied the COVID-19 pandemic. We have recorded strong top-line growth year-on-year as well as improved contribution from subsidiaries in our Group, especially our asset management business.

“In our core insurance business, we will continue to offer innovative products that help our customers create and protect their wealth while leveraging the latest technology to meet our clients where they are. In addition, strong asset-liability management remains a pillar of our operating model. As a diversified financial services group, we will continue to ensure that businesses across our Group offer attractive products that enable us create value for all stakeholders,” he said.