Insurance Firms Pay Policyholders N174.8bn Claims In Q2

Insurance companies across the country incurred  N174.8 billion gross claims paid to policyholders who suffered insurance risks as at second quarter of the current year.

In the Bulletin Of the Insurance Market, Second Quarter 2022 report released by the National Insurance Commission(NAICOM)  at the weekend and made available to LEADERSHIP, the regulatory body said: “the growth of the gross claims reported was (0.2%) during the quarter compared to the corresponding period of 2021. The industry Statistics for gross claims in Q2 of 2022 stood at N174.8 billion, representing 47.3% per cent of all premiums generated during the period.”

This development, NAICOM said, reflects the professional underwriting capacity of the industry as driven by the intensified regulatory activities of the commission, adding that, the net claims paid, on the other hand, stood at about N148.2billion, signifying 84.8 per cent of all gross claims reported during the period.

“The Life Insurance business recorded a near perfect point of about ninety (88.90) per cent claims settlement as against the reported claims while non-life segment stood at about seventy-seven (76.8) per cent,” it pointed out.

Similarly, the total assets of the nation’s insurance industry rose to N2.3trillion in the second quarter of 2022, thereby, growing by 11.9 per cent, translating to over N200 billion from second quarter of 2021.

The industry’s financial position revealed a total of N1.2 trillion in assets of Non-Life business while the Life business stood at about N1.1trillion, translating to N2.3 trillion cumulatively.

The regulatory body said, the insurance market performance for second quarter 2022 revealed some quality improvements in the market indicators including growth, claims settlement and profitability.

This performance analysis of the sector, NAICOM said, is an insight into the market behaviour in the second quarter of 2022, disclosing that, the market recorded about N369.2 billion gross premium during the period, indicating a 20.1 per cent growth rate compared to the same period of the previous year and an impressive 65 per cent, quarter on quarter.

The continued steady growth from the first quarter of the year, it stressed, correlates with the current performance of the period under review, adding that, the market could be adjudged as sound and stable whilst, the stance of the market deepening remains optimistic.