New Cornerstone Insurance MD Harps On Retail For Huge Insurance Penetration

The new managing director/CEO of Cornerstone Insurance Plc, Mr. Stephen Alangbo, said, the game-changer to deepen insurance penetration lies in the retail market even as he promised to drive the next phase of growth in Cornerstone through retail.

Alangbo succeeded the outgone group managing director, Mr. Ganiyu Musa, and official resumed office on 3rd of July, 2023, having received the necessary regulatory approval.

Speaking at a press briefing to unveil him as the new MD/CEO, at the insurer’s headquarters in Victoria Island, Lagos, recently. he said, the industry needs to push more problem-solving insurance products to the informal sector who holds the key to the future of insurance industry, adding that, penetrating that segment would need a form of partnership with key stakeholders and speed in payment of claims.

He said, what is driving insurance growth in Kenya, Ghana, South Africa is the micro insurance, urging Nigeria to borrow a leaf from these countries to deepen insurance penetration that is below one per cent for several years.

Disclosing that Cornerstone Insurance has invested heavily in technology by exploring conoetency in Artificial Intelligence(AI), especially, in prompt payment of genuine claims, he added that his insurer will leverage insurance agents and brokers as a prominent retail channels to take its products to both rural and urban areas of the country.

To him, ” We are engaging insurance agents, brokers and technology to penetrate the informal sector of the nation’s economy, rolling out micro insurance products and partnering groups, religious bodies, Non-Governmental Organisations(NGOs) and so on, to increase insurance subscription among people in the lower end of the market.

“We are building technology that supports our vision to ensure we have seamless and technologically backed process and we are coming up with a lot of microinsurance products. We are equally working on embedded insurance. All these will ensure ease of underwriting, quick settlement of claims and add to our bottom line which will mark us out as one of the top three underwriters in few years to come.”

He disclosed that the company will be partnering some telelevommunication companies on mobile insurance while also evolving products that policyholders could pay daily, weekly or monthly instead of the usual annual premium for ease of premium payment.

Alongside Alangbo are; Mr. Peter Ekwueme who is the executive director, Technical and Mr. Chidiebere Nwokeocha, who is now the executive director, Business Development and Chief Client Officer, in a new board expected to take the company to top three in insurance industry in the next five years.

The new MD/CEO, Mr. Stephen Alangbo was appointed to the board of Cornerstone Insurance in 2022 as the executive director, Technical Operations after a year stint in the same position in Tangerine Life Insurance Limited.

He was part of the management team responsible for the tremendous increase in Cornerstone’s performance in 2022, with a group gross premium written premium(GPW) of about N25billion representing 13% growth in profit before tax(PBT).

He has served as the managing director in various organisations in the insurance industry within and outside Nigeria. He was MD/CEO, Capex Life Assurance Company Limited Kenya, MD/CEO, Capital Express Assurance Liberia Limited, and Managing Director of ARM Life Plc.

He brings over 30 years quality experience to the company with competence ranging from micro-insurance, enterprise risk, strategic business development, insurance technical operations, product design & development, and corporate governance.