African Alliance records 45% growth in GPW
Foremost life insurer, African Alliance Insurance, has recorded a 45% jump in its gross premium written (GPW) from N5.17bn in 2018 to N7.5bn for the year ended 2019. This is according to the firm’s recently released unaudited financials for 31 December 2019.
According to the financial statement, the firm also grew its underwriting income from N5.11bn to N6.94bn representing a 36% growth year-on-year while customer claims increased by 8% year-on-year from N8.78bn to N9.48bn.
“The financials show a marked progress in our strategy to expand our retail presence and aggressively grow our market share despite suspending our largest line of business, annuity,’ Funmi Omo, the firm’s managing director and chief executive officer, said in a statement.
Continuing, “Our commitment to customer satisfaction is also clearly exemplified by our claims payment in the year 2019. For us, the customer is our life blood and we will always bend back to satisfy them every time they call on us,” she added.
On the sustainability of the business as a going concern, Omo allayed the fears of all stakeholders pointing to the various innovations that have taken place within the company over the past year.
According to her, “We have put in place a virile Business Continuity Plan (BCP) as a way of telling our shareholders and investors that we are indeed here for the long term while our investment portfolio is now being looked after by a smart team of experts with demonstrated accomplishments in the financial services. Internally, we have instituted a paperless policy that has seen our use of paper drop to a negligible minimum. We have put our sales team through various training and retraining; these are already yielding fruits as evidenced by the increased premium year on year. We are easily one of the most visible and engaging brand amongst our peers in the digital space. Indeed, we are not relenting in our drive to ensure we remain true to our commitment to be with the customer for life.”
Recall that the 60-year-old firm at its 50th annual general meeting (AGM) held recently had identified a combination of tactics including share restructuring, private placements and capital injection among others, to meet the minimum capital requirements as stipulated by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM).
Going by recent developments, industry watchers remain optimistic about the prospects of a firm widely regarded as a leader in the life insurance space.
