Cornerstone Grows Gross Premium Written By 34% To N17.53bn In 2020
Mr. Segun Adebanji, Chairman, Cornerstone Insurance Plc
Cornerstone Insurance said despite the challenging environment, it recorded a 34% growth in its Gross Premium Written and that of its subsidiaries to N17.53 billion in the 2020 business year.
Highlights of the company’s financials for the period showed that Premiums from life insurance grew from N3.84 billion in the previous year to N5.54 billion in 2020 and this accounted for 31% of Gross Premium Written.
The largest contributors to General Business Gross Premium Written were Oil, Gas & Aviation; Engineering and Motor classes, contributing N3.53 billion, N2.86 billion and N1.52 billion respectively.
The Group ended the year with a profit before tax of N1.76 billion.
The firm’s investment portfolios also yielded positive performance figures, driven mainly by the effect of changes in foreign exchange rates and also from sales of foreign currency denominated assets during the year just as the Investment and Treasury activities contributed N3.73 billion to overall revenue during the period under review.
The Company’s gross claims ratio for the year stood, at 41% and has been relatively stable year on year since the Company put in place stricter risk acceptance parameters.
The Chairman of the Board of Cornerstone Insurance Group, Segun Adebanji, gave these highlights in his statement to the company’s shareholders at the company’s 2020 Annual General Meeting (AGM) held virtually today.
He said “Even though the overall ratio of claims to revenue has remained relatively stable, the effects of the 2020 fourth quarter EndSARS protests are clearly noticeable in our financial statements, as non-life gross claims incurred increased by 62% when compared with the previous year and gross claims from the fire class specifically rose by 85%, from N816 million in 2019 to N1.51 billion.
The Chairman said personnel and other operating costs dropped by close to 7% as management executed remote working protocols and other measures to safeguard the welfare of staff.
He said the company’s investment in a robust nationwide technology infrastructure over the years ensured that normal operations were carried out unabated.
While noting the significant repercussions the global and domestic economic events of the year had on the financial services sub-sector in Nigeria, the Chairman commended the board and management of the company for their proactiveness in minimizing the effects on its financial performance.
The Chairman said financial performance can also be attributed to the management’s focus on strengthening “our enterprise risk management framework over the past few years”.
On the company’s outlook, he noted that while 2021 may not be a year for expansion, “it is a year in which we are discovering new strengths and capabilities as the world embraces new ways of working and communicating through technology. Your Board, therefore, anticipates new opportunities for the insurance industry and for Cornerstone as we venture into this new normal.”
While responding to the concerns raised by the various shareholders at the 29th AGM, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Company, Mr Ganiyu Musa, said the company will do everything within its powers to ensure the protection of peoples’ investment in the company and thanked the shareholders for their interest in the company.
The highlight of the occasion was the cutting of the 30th-anniversary cake of the company. Cornerstone Insurance Plc was 30 years old yesterday having been incorporated on July 26, 19991.
