Insurers Post N1.6trn Gross Premium Income In 3yrs

In the last three years, the insurance industry recorded a gross premium income of N1.6trillion  between 2019 and 2021 financial year, LEADERSHIP checks reveal.

In the 2021 financial year, however, about 56 registered life and non-life insurance companies posted a gross premium income of about N630billion.

This was a major growth when compared to N508 billion gross premium income the industry posted in the 2020 financial year, translating to N122billion increase within the period under review. It however recorded N471.8 billion Gross premium income in 2019.

The industry has an ambitious target of meeting N1 trillion annual premium income target in the next few years, and experts believe this is a step forward in this regards.

This, according to market analysts, is unique taking into considering the tough operating environment that affected insurance renewals of some firms even as some companies who were previously insuring, closed down operations as they could not cope with the challenging economic atmosphere in the country.

Similarly, reliable sources in the industry revealed that, over 40 per cent of the income made in the last financial year equally went into claims payment, a development that further reinforced the pledge of insurers to continue to pay genuine claims.

Speaking at a press briefing in Victoria Island, Lagos on Thursday, the immediate past chairman, Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA), Mr. Ganiyu Musa, said, insurance industry gross premium rose above N600billion in 2021, which, he said, was laudable given the economic challenges that is affecting policy renewals in the country.

While the industry paid N224 billion claims in 2020 financial year, he said, the industry paid higher in the 2021 financial year, a testament that insurers actually pay genuine claims.

Musa, whose tenure as the chairman of NIA ended yesterday, after two years at its helms, stated that, the industry has progressed in terms of businesses it is underwriting as well as its capacity to pay genuine claims as and when due.

Musa, who is also the group managing director of Cornerstone Insurance Plc,  promised that his association will continue to emphasise the need for insurance companies to pay all genuine insurance claims and will not hesitate to sanction erring member companies, just as it has done in the past.

He equally disclosed that the association has adopted naming and shaming of insurance companies that engage in undercutting of premium rates in the country.

Stating that the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) had barred insurance firms from engaging in such nefarious act at vehicle licencing offices, he added that, NIA council had followed up the decision by adopting the measure of naming and shaming any insurance company going contrary to the agreed premium rate.

Musa noted that the NIA is engaging Road Traffic Officers of the Federation to drive integration of the third-party motor Insurance across the states following their request for the implementation of the system in all 36 states including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

He posited that the association will continue to partner relevant government agencies on the adoption of the Nigerian Insurance Industry Database (NIID) and Nigerian Insurance Industry Portal (NIIP), stressing that the association is also working with Lagos State Building Control Agency as part of engagements on the implementation of Lagos State Building law – Occupiers Liability and Builders Liability insurance.

“The association is also working closely with the state vehicle Inspection service on enforcement of Third-Party Motor Insurance in the States. Kaduna, Kogi, Rivers and Ogun States have already keyed into the project and more States are already discussing with the association to finalize arrangements on how they can join,” he added.

He stressed that the association will continue to complement the efforts of NAICOM in their campaign on domestication of compulsory insurances in the States, adding that, it is the association’s expectation that laws on compulsory insurances can be domesticated in other States just as Lagos state has done.