For Niger Insurance Plc, the future growth trajectory of the company lie in refocusing its business strategy towards retail and micro-insurance segments of the market in view of the stiff competition and unsteady nature of government/corporate businesses.
Alhaji Bala Zakariya’u, the Chairman of Niger Insurance Plc laid the growth rules bare at the 44th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the company in Ilorin, Kwara State recently. He also said the company would in the years ahead, re-appraise its investment portfolio to fully maximise earnings and minimise emerging market risks.
“We will also focus attention on revamping and reintroducing old products after making them more attractive to the insuring public. We will continue to strengthen our renewed strategic alliances with insurance intermediaries and clients to engender improved market share and to advance our leadership position in the industry.”
He told shareholders that the company is already reaping immense benefits from implementation of its recently introduced Performance Improvement and Organisational Restructuring Project as the speed and efficiency of its service delivery has improved greatly, thus enhancing the company’s ability to add more value to all stakeholders.
“The implementation of the enterprise-wide Information and Communications Technology (ICT) initiative also enabled our business process improvements which gave us sustainable growth possibilities.”
For the financial year ended December 31, 2013, Niger Insurance Plc achieved gross premium income of N10.443 billion as against N10.331 billion recorded in the same period of 2012 while profit after tax stood at N599.472 million compared to N470.176 million in the preceding year.
The Group profit before tax for 2013 was N716.108 million compared to N703.499 million achieved in the 2012 while Group after tax in the year under review stood at N627.425 million as against N776.293 million in the previous year.
According to Zakariya’u, the company is actively looking into the possibility of doing away with any loss sustaining subsidiary to avoid negative impact on its Group performance.
“The company’s Transformation Agenda-New Niger has matured into the basic commitment to greater market share and profitability through integrated marketing approach and strong brand identity. The segmentation of our branches into corporate, retail and special markets should be understood in the context of highly market driven and focused management rather than a class identity programme.”
Looking at the prospect of the industry in Nigeria going forward, the Niger Insurance Chairman said: “The future of insurance business in Nigeria is bright as NAICOM (National Insurance Commission) continue to deepen the industry through various initiatives. Niger Insurance Plc is poised to grow its premium income and profitability in the coming years with the introduction of new products including a flagship Annuity Scheme, travel insurance and other products.”
