CHI records N12.827bn GPW, settles N4.468bn claims in 2022
Consolidated Hallmark Insurance Plc recorded impressive performance during the 2022 financial year with a growth of 22 per cent Gross Premium Written from N10.5 billion in 2021 to N12.827 billion last year.
Besides, the company paid claims of N4.468 billion last year as against N3.999 billion in 2021.
The Chairman of the Company, Mr. Obinna Ekezie, addressing Shareholders at the 28th Annual General Meeting in Lagos said despite the difficulty in business environment the company during the 2022 Financial Year, braved all odds in the operating environment and is posting improved results in its top and bottom lines.
The results are an all-time high. They show a growth of 22% in Gross Premium Written income, from N10.50 billion in 2021 to N12.827 billion in 2022.
Underwriting Profit grew from N1.915 billion in 2021 to N2.367 billion in 2022 while the Total Assets of the company was not left out in the impressive performance.
In his remarks, the Group Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Eddie Efekoha, said the Financial Year 2022 was a remarkable one for us in Consolidated Hallmark Insurance Plc as it marked the 15th Anniversary of the journey we all embarked upon in 2007. It also was the beginning of another journey for the transformation of your company into a financial Powerhouse for the transaction of insurance and other Financial services under one formidable umbrella. We Have truly progressed in that journey, having received your unwavering support and unanimous approval to embark on all necessary processes.
As we gather here again in yet another physical annual Meeting which happened last in 2019, I reckon that this May very well be the last of such meetings under the Umbrella of Consolidated Hallmark Insurance Plc as it is today.
There is cheering news by colleagues on the Board Having, once again, to the best of our abilities, carried out the assignment you gave us – to grow your Investments in this going concern. I am therefore pleased to inform you that year 2022, as the results now before you show, was another good outing for us. We may not have achieved the very impressing outing we all continually craved for, but our modest growth in key financial indicators is a good way to bid the quoted insurance stock farewell and welcome the Holding Company whose formal birth shall be announced soon.
Our industry in year 2022 like in other years faced some challenges within the sector as it battled headlong to surmount obstacles peculiar to it. These include the low insurance penetration rate especially in Nigeria, when compared to a few other African countries like Egypt and South Africa both with economies not as large as that of Nigeria. We have equally grappled with the challenge of under-pricing of risks even while inflationary trends in the economy remained on an upward swing.
It was not until recently that the regulator -the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) tackled the issue headlong, with the review of rates for motor and fire insurance in the first instance after a painstaking process which I was privileged to be part of. It is good to note that various operators and stakeholders within the insurance industry space are adjusting rapidly to the new premium regime and passing the message across to their customers about the benefits derivable from the review. The rate for private motor third party insurance for instance moved from N5,000 to N15,000 effective 1st January 2023 while liability for Third Party property Damage was increased by the regulator from N1 million to N3 million. This is the reality of the present economic situation if your company and others in the sector are to continue to break even and deliver expected returns to their stakeholders. NAICOM is also becoming more stringent with enforcement of rates for motor insurance comprehensive cover as it is geared towards sanctioning operators who offer discounts below agreed pricing which was considered reasonable in the industry.
