Sunu Assurances Nigeria Plc, a non-life insurance firm headquartered in Lagos, said it will take advantage of the country’s population as well as technology to elevate its market share in the insurance industry.
This is part of the company’s quest to be among the biggest listed insurance companies in Nigeria before the year 2024.
The newly-appointed Managing Director, Samuel Ogbodu, said at a news conference that the non-life insurance company is working hard to boost profitability, and meet the expectations of major investors.
“We want to do business the way it should be done, to serve stakeholders and customers better. We are working hard to increase Nigeria’s contribution in the group as the biggest economy in Africa”, Ogbodu stated.
According to him, the company will harness several opportunities in the insurance industry to expand operations. He explained that the non-life insurer will rely on technology and physical presence to push growth.
Ogbodu further stated that the insurer will leverage the success and expertise of its group, Sunu Assurance Group, to fast-track growth.
The helmsman noted that the company will prioritize on the retail market to bring insurance to the doorstep of every Nigerian nationwide.
The company recently unveiled an innovative mobile USSD insurance solution. This initiative is a self-service solution that enables car owners or users to purchase third-party auto insurance with the use of their mobile phones within five minutes.
According to the Managing Director, the company is now positioned for growth after years of struggling.
Shares of Sunu Assurances Nigeria Plc fell to 20 kobo after the Nigerian Stock Exchange removed the 50 kobo pricing floor fourteen months ago.
Last year, the Nigerian Stock Exchange sanctioned the non-life insurer for violating the post-listing rules which requires quoted companies to submit their audited earnings reports not later than 90 calendar days after each concluded financial year.
Till date, the company is yet to submit its financial reports for the first nine months of 2018.
Sunu Assurances leaves its shareholders nothing to cheer about given the unimpressive 2018 half-year performance. The insurer posted N130.9 million underwriting loss in the first six months of 2018, compared with N733.4 million profit posted in the similar period of 2017, spurred by elevated net claims expenses.
This weakened the profitability as after-tax loss nosedived to N622.9 million in the said period compared with N171.3 million post-tax profit realized in the previous comparable period.
The company, formerly known as Equity Assurance Plc, offers non-life insurance products in health management, asset management and hospitality services.
Sunu Assurances Nigeria Plc has two subsidiaries namely EA Capital Management Limited (wholly owned) and Managed Health Care Services Limited (63 percent stake)
ISRAEL ODUBOLA
