WAPIC Insurance Plc, a multi- line insurance company has announced its unaudited financial results for the period ended 30 June 2020, recording an 8 percent growth in gross written premium to N9.3 billion compared to N8.7 billion in 2019.
The Company, which will be having a conference call on Thursday tom share this with its teaming investors, said it was able to sustain this consistent growth in premium by the attainment of leadership status on some major accounts and enhanced underwriting capabilities.
WAPIC also paid a total of N1.6 billion in gross claims for the year. The Gross claims to GWP ratio closed at 17 percent as at half year 2020, a reduction when compared with the 28 percent recorded in first half of 2019.
The Group’s total underwriting profit grew to N1.99 billion as at Jun’20, a 58 percent year- on- year growth from the N1.26 billion recorded in the preceding period of 2019.
The growth in premiums income and fees and commission income and decrease in claims expense during the review period had a positive impact on this position.
The Group closed with a Profit Before Tax of N825 million representing a YOY growth of 106 percent. The key driver of this position, it stated includes the increases recorded in underwriting profit and total investment and other income within the period.
Yinka Adekoya, managing director , WAPIC Insurance Plc commenting on the result said “The Nigerian economy was on lockdown for a major part of the second quarter of this year, following the emergence of the novel COVID- 19 pandemic that disrupted business activities both globally and locally. Notwithstanding, the company delivered a commendable performance in the first half of 2020 despite the prevailing conditions in the economy that may have impacted sign on of new business, renewal rate, installment payment of premium.
She said that following the expected impact of the pandemic on business operations, the company activated its business continuity plan to effectively guard against business disruptions. With this, along with an intensified underwriting capacity, the Group grew its premium position for the period by 8 percent year-on-year to close at N9.34 billion.
“Our underwriting profit position grew by 58 percent to N2billion compared with the N1.3 billion recorded in the previous period of 2019, driven by the growth in our premium position and fees and commission income.”
The Group closed with a profit before tax of N825 million representing a YOY growth of 106 percent. Some of the key drivers of this position include the increases recorded in underwriting profit and total investment and other income within the period. Total asset grew by N9.9bn representing a 32 percent growth for the Group up from Dec. 2019 to N40.6 billion, while Shareholders’ Funds stood at N24 billion for the period from N19 billion as at Dec 2019.
“We remain relentless in our GWP growth drive this year in line with our revised growth expectations following the impact of the global pandemic on insurance operations. With the success of our digital transformation, we would constructively harness the opportunities that abound during this period with the aid of technology.”