AIICO Insurance plc, a Nigerian insurance underwriter, has announced that the company is currently restructuring its operational model to respond to the digital revolution which has changed the demographics of customers in the insurance marketplace, just as it is set to announce promising figures for the first quarter of 2014.
Speaking at a media parley held at its head office, Jide Orimolade, executive director, technical for AIICO, stated that the company has continued to push its team to achieve its first quarter projections for the year in spite of the delays in the passage of the 2014 Budget which has not only affected the industry but other businesses as well.
In terms of opportunities and growth potentials for its business, Orimolade revealed that AIICO sees opportunities for insurance in the newly privatised power sector with the new owners of the Gencos (generating companies) and Discos (distribution companies) looking to find a lasting solution to Nigeria’s seemingly intractable power supply challenges.
Continuing, the AIICO ED said: “On the macro level, AIICO commends NAICOM’s introduction and full implementation of the ‘No Premium, No Cover’ policy which has helped insurance companies in terms of cash collections and underwriting profits,” adding that the policy has also led to good returns on investments for AIICO and many other insurance companies.
AIICO’s Q1 projections were put at N31.76bn as top-line figures with its earning within the period put N8.61bn with the breakdown showing that General Business is N2.9bn; Individual Life – N1.7bn; Group Life – N900m; and Annuity – N3.15bn.
He also announced that claims experience during the same period puts General business at 29 percent; Individual Life – 25 percent and Group Life at 15 percent.
Also speaking at the parley, Olurotimi Aleshinloye, head, strategy, brand & corporate communications for AIICO, explained that the company will look to continue along its current transformational path of restructuring its operational model to give better attention to the marketplace and customer needs.
Having recorded encouraging results in its Q1 projection, Aleshinloye stated that AIICO will focus on adjusting operations to the ongoing digital revolution by seeking to capture the predominantly tech-savvy customers that are not yet insured.
He said: “Because the demographics of 10 years ago have become obsolete due to the ICT revolution, AIICO has also redefined its structures and operations around the current customer types. With 54m Nigerians currently within the age bracket of under-30, the industry sees opportunities for the insurance market to grow bigger than it is today.”
On the economy, Aleshinloye said that because interest rates had remained steady over the last few years, with MPR remaining at 12 percent for the last two years, there has been a restriction on the flow of cash, adding that not much has changed in terms of the CRR.
Responding to questions on what AIICO was doing to respond to the changes within the industry, Olusola Ajayi, head, retail business division, stated that as Nigeria’s biggest retail insurers, AIICO has redefined its approach to micro insurance by repackaging same product for the same segment of the market.
Speaking further, he revealed that AIICO had gone into strategic partnerships with trade and market associations who were hitherto thought to be in the informal sector, but whom AIICO found were actually semi-formal with the existence of well defined structures among them, in order to reach their members with insurance products.
In addition to this, Ajayi said AIICO has also been working on going into partnership with telecom operators in order to utilise their platforms in reaching mobile subscribers with health insurance products. “After taking care of basic needs like food, clothing and shelter, the next most crucial need most people focus on is healthcare. So AIICO will focus on reaching this group. And though AIICO anticipates much better success in this regard, there still room for improvement,” he said.
OLUSEGUN ABISOYE
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