The 2020 edition of the annual Conference of the National Association of Insurance and Pension Correspondents (NAIPCO), is now set to hold on Wednesday,4th of November, 2020 at Four Points By Sheraton Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos by 10:00am.

Accordingly, experts as well as stakeholders in the financial services sector will converge to deliberate on how insurance and pension fund operators can build their investment portfolios to maximise profit.

The theme for the conference is: “Promoting Bankable Investments Portfolio for Insurance and Pension Sectors.”

The Chairman of the occasion is the Chairman, Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), Mr. Austin Enajemo-Isire while the Director General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Dr. Muda Yusuf, is the Keynote Speaker, even as the Chairman, Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc, Dr. Akin Ogunbiyi will be the Special Guest of Honour and Chief Launcher of the new NAIPCO website.
The Commissioner for Insurance/CEO, the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Mr. Sunday Thomas and the Director General, National Pension Commission (PenCom), Mrs. Aisha Dahir-Umar, have confirmed their attendance at the conference.
Similarly, the Chairman, Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA), Mr Ganiyu Musa; the CEO, Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp), Mr. Agudah Oguche, among others, will also be present at the occasion to deliberate on ways  operators can invest in the businesses of the Organised Private Sector of Nigeria(OPSN) and still maximise profit.
Speaking on the preparation for the event, the President, NAIPCO, Mr. Chuks Udo Okonta, said, as a critical stakeholder, it is the desire of NAIPCO that companies in both the insurance and pension sectors build up investment portfolios that will translate to huge returns on investments for shareholders and contributors of the contributory pension scheme.
He said the organised private sector has consistently lamented of low funding for manufacturers as the investment community have accused OPSN of lack of bankable investment projects in which pension and insurance companies can invest in, despite the two sectors having in excess of N11 trillion funds that could be invested in the economy.
For the insurance sector, he stressed that the theme of the conference is apt based on the argument that the sector is destroying value due to the consistent low returns on investment to shareholders.
For the pension sector, he stated that, the theme is also apt as PFAs have limited investment outlets with the ban on investment in treasury bills by the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) as well as, the current low yield on bonds, the mainstay investment instrument of the pension industry.
Accordingly, he pointed out that the experts will lay bare all available bankable investment outlets for the operators to reap maximum benefits for their shareholders and customers’ benefits.
Moreover, he said, a new NAIPCO website will be unveiled at the conference, while there will be awards for individuals or organisations that have contributed immensely to the growth and development of either the insurance or pension sectors.

Universal Insurance Plc has unveiled an array of innovative products to drive market share and deepen insurance penetration in the country.
The Third Party Fire and Theft Insurance Cover offers the middle-ground level of protection as it would give the policyholders a better level of cover than third-party only, but you wouldn’t be as well protected as if you’d taken out a comprehensive policy.
This insurance covers; Third Party Property Damage, Third Party Death and Bodily Injury, Third-party medical treatment costs, Theft or attempted theft of the insured vehicle and Fire damage to the insured vehicle.
The Third Party Motor Insurance also provides benefits in the event of; Death or bodily injury to a third party arising out of the use of the insured car and damage to property other than property belonging to the insured.
On the other hand, its Burglary and Housebreaking Insurance Policy is designed to provide compensation against loss of or damage to one’s property as a result of burglary or any attempt threat. The cover also includes damage to building(s) for which the insured is responsible resulting from the theft.
Moreover, its Business Interruption Insurance is a form of insurance coverage that replaces business income lost as a result of an event that interrupts the operations of the business, such as fire or a natural disaster, among others. Business interruption insurance is not sold as a separate policy, but is either added to a property/casualty policy or included in a comprehensive package policy.
Speaking on this development, the managing director of the insurance firm, Mr. Ben Ujoatuonu, noted that the company is presently meeting all its obligations especially, in the area of prompt claims settlement to clients and other stakeholders, adding that, the insurer is liquid enough to carry out its civic responsibilities.
He stated that his company is capitalising on the potentials in the retail market to deepen insurance penetration, noting that the wholesale market is already saturated.
“We have a competitive edge in claims settlement through investment in state of the art communication and information technology thereby enhancing our operational efficiency and offer to pay off legitimate claims in a jiffy after the execution of discharge voucher. We have a tractable but reduced claims process circle,” the CEO said.
He noted that the firm is liquid to underwrite big insurance businesses in insurance sector of the financial industry, saying, the company is eyeing the retail market and will soon unveil some retail insurance products to deepen insurance penetration.
Moreover, he said, the company has also imbibed the culture of training and retraining of its workforce as it believes in the human capital development, motivation and empowerment to drive policies and create values.
The credibility of its brand lies in its underwriting skills, innovative insurance solutions, financial strength, superior service and prompt claims settlement.
Universal Insurance Plc is one of the nation’s largest personal lines insurers. With over N11 billion in assets, it sells all lines of general insurance, including auto, property and commercial insurances.

Linkage Assurance Plc has grown its total assets to N32.9 billion at the end of third quarter 2020, a 14.63 percent increase from N28.7 billion in the same period in 2019.

This is contained in the Company’s unaudited financial statement for the period ended 30^th September 2020 made available to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

According to the statement, Gross Premium Written grew by 29 percent to N6.9 billion from N5.4 billion in September 2019.  The Company also recorded underwriting profit of N374.2 million, up 27 percent from N295.1 percent when compared to prior year.

Profit Before Tax  stood at N1.53 billion as at September 2020 against N866.86 million in the prior period, the major driver being increase in net premium, reduction in net claims expense and investment income.

This is as Profit After Tax (PAT) also grew to N1.12 billion during the review period as against N591.91 million the same period in the previous year.

Net underwriting income was N3.49 billion as against N3.27 billion in 2019.

Daniel Braie, Managing Director/CEO Linkage Assurance Plc said the Company will continue to refine its strategy in line with the political economic, sociological and technological changes in the industry particularly the impact of Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic on the business landscape.

“We will also continue to develop innovative products, alternative channels of distributions and strategic initiatives that will enable us achieve our corporate goals and objectives. With a medium to long perspectives, we believe that we will benefit from growth in these indicatives, Mr. Braie said.

He said the Company has developed and launched a number of retail products. These include Linkage Third Party Plus, which is budget friendly motor insurance that provides not only the compulsory third part protection but an additional own damage protection to the tune of N250,000. This product is only available from our company, Linkage Assurance Plc.  Others are Linkage SME Comprehensive, Citadel Shield (which provides compensation as a result of injuries from accident for pupils and students in recognized academic establishments.

Others are Linkage Events Exclusive Insurance, Linkage Shop Insurance, Purple Motor Insurance Plan (comprehensive motor cover exclusively for women), and Linkage Estate Insurance. We are also making efforts to deploy our online portal to make our products and services available to our customers especially the digital savvy customers and enterprises.

“We will consolidate on the gaining initiatives to improve our operational efficiency so as to reduce the cost of doing business, improve business process, eliminate wastages and achieve higher margins in our core business, the Company told shareholders and the investing public.

The Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) and the National Association of Insurance and Pension Correspondents (NAIPCO) are set for for a pragmatic partnership to boost insurance awareness and growth in Nigeria.

During a courtesy call on the leadership of NCRIB by the new EXCO of NAIPCO, Mrs. Bola Onigbogi, the President of NCRIB promised to work with the new executives of NAIPCO to increase insurance acceptance as well as its contribution to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product(GDP).
According to her, a lot of Nigerians are still ignorant of what values insurance can bring to their respective lives, while some still habour the misconception that insurance companies don’t pay claims, hence, the need to drive awareness and education from the media perspective to change this narrative.
She believes that the growth of insurance industry requires collective efforts, saying, the media is critical and an important stakeholder in the journey to develop the insurance segment of the nation’s economy.
While appreciating the efforts of NAIPCO members in their drive to educate Nigerians through their informed write-ups and news reporting, she urged them to be positive in reporting as the death of the industry will also negatively reflect on the reporters covering the sector.
She applauded the current executives for embarking on series of projects aimed at complementing the efforts of Insurance companies and brokers to deepen Insurance penetration and acceptance, promising that, the council will, just as it has done in the past, continue to support the association in its plans to grow and develop the sector.
Similarly, the Vice-President, NCRIB, Mr. Tunde Oguntade, said, the relationship between the council and the media, especially, insurance correspondents, has always been positive, promising to extend such gesture to the current executives of NAIPCO, so that, together, they can grow the industry.
“We have had a cordial relationship with your predecessors and the current executives at NCRIB are ever ready to support you to succeed in all your plans. We need to positively project the industry and we, the brokers, are already doing that through our several initiatives,” he pointed out.
Moreover, the Executive Secretary, NCRIB, Mr. Fatai Adegbenro, said both the media and the council are critical stakeholders and must together work to grow the industry.
Insurance, he said, drives the economy in advanced countries, stating that, this is a point Nigeria must aspire to be, through increased contribution to the nation’s GDP, saying, “we are all stakeholders in the industry and the public tends to believe anything that comes from the media, hence, the need to throw caution, so as not to feed the public with lies or hearsay. The role of journalists is to inform and we must give the right information to the people yearning for information.”
Earlier, the President, NAIPCO, Mr. Chuks Udo Okonta, said, his administration is embarking on developmental journalism, which involves providing critical answers to issues affecting the insurance industry.
The motive of this style of journalism, he stressed, is to grow the sector through increased searchlights on the operations of Insurance companies, brokers and other players to ensure that they are playing their respective roles effectively.
On Company Profiling, a product of the current administration, he said, the association will profile  the management, claims or/and product of an underwriting firm, write about it in the most subtle language and human angle perspective to ensure the public truly understands the operations of insurance companies in the country.
Similarly, he listed other programmes of the association, which includes: the NAIPCO Annual National Conference, Trumpet Journal, Advert To News Initiative(ATN), amongst others.

Mr. Ben Ujoatuonu

Managing Director/CEO

Universal Insurance Plc

Universal Insurance Plc paid over N1.2 billion to its policyholders in the past five (5) years to maintain its enviable position in the insurance industry in Nigeria as an underwriter that settles claims at the nick of time.

Such customer-friendly record has now endeared the company to existing and potential policyholders of the underwriter.

The Chairman, Manny Insurance Brokers Limited, Kayode Okunoren, disclosed that Universal Insurance Plc has a rich heritage of professional practice in Nigeria, believing that, this heritage is being sustained.

“It is the belief of Management that the desire of Universal to forge collaborative relationship with brokers through the Nigerian Council has f Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) platform will be achieved,” he stressed.

He stated that the insurer has etched its name amongst the most brokers’– friendly companies operating today in the Nigerian market.

Aside Okunoren, many brokers equally endorsed the company whilst attesting to how their claims were promptly settled by Universal Insurance Plc, even as they implored other brokers to place their clients’ risks with the company, stressing that, there is no hassle in getting claims paid by Universal Insurance Plc.

Similarly, owing to the company’s pedigree on claims settlement, Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) a body also known as Nollywood industry chose Universal Insurance to provide it with Group Personal Accident Insurance policy.

The group has about 150, 000 members spread across the country in its register and as such seems the largest professional interest group in Africa.

According to some of them, the development was a dream come true for actors who are always exposed to varying degree of occupational hazards without any form of compensation, adding that, the unveiling of the insurance cover for them symbolised unity of purpose and provided sense of belonging and direction from the current team of excos to the members of once-troubled organisation.

Speaking on the scheme, Don Pedro Obaseki, Former Chairman, Lagos State Chapter of the AGN expressed his delight for the scheme, saying, for the first time in the history of AGN, the Actors now have insurance protection, noting that it is a wonderful experience and something the group have been looking forward to.

“It’s commendable and forward-looking and this is going to further leapfrog the industry and Actors Guild into another level in the sense that if you have the history of our members, you find out that Nollywood members always have health-related issues. So this will go a long way to trying to checkmate that and also create other health awareness amongst our members”, Obaseki, Founder/CEO, ACC Broadcast Multimedia Ltd said.

Meanwhile, notwithstanding the challenges facing insurance industry in Nige­ria occasioned by harsh operating environment, Universal Insurance Plc has stood out as an underwrit­ing firm to reckon with, especially, in the area of Prompt claims settlement.

Its sterling performances cou­pled with innovative product de­sign and development recently earned the company the ‘Best Innovative Insurance Company of the Year 2019’ at the Champion Newspapers’ award held in Lagos.

Presenting the award to the company, Mr. Feyi Smith, a for­mer Managing Director, Champi­on Newspapers Limited, who ex­pressed delight over the choice of the insurance firm for the award category, said that he has been following up with the progress the company has made in recent times positing that the award was a honour well deserved.

Receiving the award on behalf of the company, Ogbuefi Paulinus Offorzor, the Executive Director (Technical), Universal Insurance Plc, said: “I must say that this award has presented to the entire Universal Insurance family, a greater chal­lenge to continue to put smile on the faces of our esteemed cus­tomers and I can assure you that Universal Insurance will become a mega company in the post recapi­talisation insurance industry.”

Some claimants that have enjoyed the firm’s prompt claims response, are; NTA-Star TV Network Limited which got N135.6 million and TVC Atlantic Vacation group, which received N105 million as  claims between 2016 and 2020 under the Corporate clients, Akinwekomi Collins Dele received N5.8 million claims even as Pastor Robert Udeagha got settled to the tune of N2.6 million under the Individual Client.

Meanwhile, Universal Insurance Plc has paid N1.2 billion as claims to its policyholders in the last five years.

The breakdown of the claims paid shows that the company paid N147.8 billion claims to its policyholders who suffered insured risks in its 2015 financial year, paid N111.1 million in 2016, N330.3 million in 2017, N334.2 million in 2018, while it settled N338.2 million claims in 2019 financial year end, bringing the total claims to N1.2 billion on nine classes of insurance.

Within the period of five years, the company paid N182.3 million claims on Bond, as it paid N11.4 million in 2016, N13.3 million in 2017, N5.9 million in 2018 and N151.7 million in 2019.

Similarly, it settled Engineering claims worth N178.1 million; fire claims to the tune of N412.1 million; general accident claims gulping N299.8 million, while aviation claims amounted to N10 million even as Marine insurance claims was N43.9 million.

Marine Hull insurance attracted N5.6 million claims with motor insurance attracting N156.8 million claims.

Speaking on this development, the managing director, Universal Insurance PLC, Mr. Ben Ujoatuonu, noted that the company is presently meeting all its obligations especially, in the area of prompt claims settlement to clients and other stakeholders, adding that the insurer is liquid enough to carry out its civic responsibilities.

“We have a competitive edge in claims settlement through investment in state of the art communication and information technology thereby enhancing our operational efficiency and offer to pay off legitimate claims in a jiffy after the execution of discharge voucher. We have a tractable but reduced claims process circle,” the CEO said.

He noted that the firm is liquid to underwrite big insurance businesses in insurance sector of the financial industry, saying, the company is eyeing the retail market and will soon unveil some retail insurance products to deepen insurance penetration.

Moreover, he said, the company has also imbibed the culture of training and retraining of its workforce as it believes in the human capital development, motivation and empowerment to drive policies and create values.

Universal Insurance, according to him, has equally deployed its personnel effectively to ensure that good hands are always on deck to drive the company’s growth policy to the optimum, a policy that has repositioned the firm on an enviable pedestal among its competitors in the marketplace, adding that, his insurer is now in a vantage position to provide valuable advisory services on clients’ portfolios.

“Universal Insurance serves commercial, institutional and individual customers through an extensive general insurance network, also providing financial services and risk management services nation-wide. The company’s leadership is as a result of its underwriting skills, innovative insurance solutions, financial strength, superior service and prompt claims settlement,” he pointed out.