Niger Insurance plc, the company that provides life insurance, related pension, savings, and investment products has recorded strong underwriting performance in the half year period as premium income continues to grow amid a weakening economy.
Analysts say the strong underwriting performance means the Nigerian insurer has profitable businesses in its books and it is also prudent in the selection of risk.
For the first six months through June 2015, Niger Insurance Underwriting profit was N1.95 billion from N1.68 billion the previous year.
Net income surged by 129.15 percent to N359.8 million in 2015 from N156.76 million last year.
An actuary who doesn’t want his name mentioned said the stellar performance of the company in the period under review will inevitable make the stocks of the company attractive to investors.
Niger insurance combined ratio (CR) of 66.0 percent, lower than the 100 percent threshold indicates that the company is making underwriting profit while receiving more premiums than paying out claims.
A low combined ratio means Niger Insurance is profitable and in sound financial strength as the company continues to grow premiums amid tough macro conditions.
A combined ratio in the insurance world is the combination of claims ratio and expense ratio.
Niger insurance net premium income jumped by 13.57 percent to N5.69 billion in the period under review compared with N5.04 billion in 2014 while gross premium written also increased by 10 percent to N6.16 billion.
Despite the impressive performance of the Niger Insurance, insurance penetration still remain low in Africa largest economy given the sectors less than one percent contribution to an economy of N100 trillion ($510 billion).
Niger insurance share price closed at N0.50 on the floor of the exchange while market capitalization was N3.87 billion.
BALA AUGIE
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