• Friday, March 29, 2024
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African Alliance bounces back, posts N5.67 billion PBT

African Alliance Insurance pays N6.65bn on claims

Foremost life insurer, African Alliance Insurance PLC, has declared a profit before tax of N5.67 billion in 2020 compared to a loss of N7.04 billion in 2019 representing over 1300 percent year-on-year increase. This was made known at the company’s hybrid 52nd Annual General Meeting held in Lagos and streamed online.

Anthony Okocha, chairman of the Company whose retirement was later announced at the event, high-lighted the many progresses of the company in the year under review. “Your Company was able to grow its asset base by 29 percent from over N40 billion to N56.3 billion. This was as a result of substantial capital injection which gave us a boost on our bottom line to the tune of N5.67 billion from the 2019 loss position of – N7.04 billion. These profits have been immediately assigned as retained earnings to further boost our ongoing quest to revamp our books and grow the overall financial standing of your Company,” he said.

A further analysis of the books shows that the company paid N8.16 billion in claims, a 21 percent reduction year-on-year on the previous year’s figure of N10.4 billion. This, according to the Chairman, was as a “result of shrewd underwriting/ vibrant risk selection process which saw us cede strategically to reinsurers.” The firm’s income from investments dropped also by 19 percent from N3.02 billion to N2.46 billion, a direct outcome of the decline in market rates, however, the company’s operating expenses also reduced by 14 percent as a precautionary counterbalance to the reduced earnings.

Read Also: African Alliance Insurance names Joyce Ojemudia MD/CEO

Whilst giving her remarks at the event, Joyce Ojemudia, managing director/CEO, African Alliance Insurance PLC, restated the management’s commitment to optimising costs and growing the market.

She said, “Our main focus next year is to grow our market share substantially. This will be achieved by massive beef-up of the sales team (field force and corporate marketers) and provision of necessary tools to aid marketing activities. We will reopen branches in locations we have found promising and enhance our presence in existing locations.

She said “Our quest to maintain physical presence resonates with our integrity drive as insurance is a business of trust especially amongst the retail market. This effort will be supported by digital technology as we adopt a two-prong onslaught on the market.” She also listed as priorities the renewal of the company’s ISO certification as a business tool to enhance market confidence; staff training and retraining to aid knowledge acquisition; recruitment into key technical areas as well as massive IT upgrades to support the business goals.”

Also at the meeting, the retirement of Anthony Okocha, the company’s Board Chairman, effective 20th September, 2021, was announced. Sylva Ogwemoh, senior advocate of Nigeria, and a non-executive director of the Company, who chaired the meeting, described the retired Chairman as a man who was passionate towards the cause of African Alliance Insurance PLC.