Consolidated Hallmark Insurance (CHI) Plc, as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), has rewarded six winners of its 2021 Annual National Essay Competition.
This is the 11th edition of the competition that started in 2011 with two categories comprising Internal and External.
According to the firm, this is part of its contribution toward insurance education and breeding human capital for the insurance industry in the country.
The External category saw entries from some higher institutions across the country and was given “Insecurity In the Nation: Threat and Opportunities for Insurers,” as a topic while the internal category witnessed entries from some staff of CHI, some of whom were initial winners of the essay in the past and the wrote on “Remote Working Model: Readiness of the Nigerian Insurance Industry,”.
In the external category, however, the 2021 competition saw Oluwaseyi Victoria Ajemunigbohun from the Insurance Department of the Lagos State Polytechnic(LASPOTECH) emerge the winner, thereby, going home with a cheque of N250,000, while Ifeoluwa Olaseni Oyefejo emerged second, hence, rewarded with a cheque of N150,000.
Oluwatobi Emmanuel Akujobi, however, came third with a prize of N100,000.
Similarly, in the internal category, Balogun Noah Obabiolurunkosi emerged the winner while Oluwatobi Esther Ashiru emerged second, with Gbemisola Abiola coming 3rd in the award category.
Speaking on the procedure for choosing the winners of the competition, the Mark Ekechukwu, chairman of the Award Committee, noted that the topics for the 2021 edition of the competition were apt and contemporary with the current trends in the country.
He disclosed that 21 entries were received for external category while seven entries were received for the internal category, taking the total number of entries received for the competition to 28.
The assessment process, he said, had assessors drawn from vital segments of the insurance industry – broking, underwriting, regulatory and the media, in an attempt to ensure a very objective outcome.
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He noted that this panel graded the best entries received from the various institutions while average scores are arrived at to determine the final winners in the three categories.
Niran Adewale, managing director/CEO, Den Dik, who is also one of the Assessors for the 2021 essay competition said, the level of thinking, awareness and the ability to proffer solutions to societal problems were what the assessors looked for in the entries submitted.
While praising those who did well in the competition, he added that, some equally performed woefully, hence charging other corporate organisations to borrow a leaf from CHI gesture to increase human capital development, especially for insurance industry.
On his part, Eddie Efekoha, group managing director/CEO, CHI Plc who congratulated the winners, promised that, going forward, his insurance firm will sponsor the publishing of the winning article in a widely read national newspaper to celebrate the winner.
He stated that the Essay Competition is part of the company’s contribution to the overall insurance industry awareness creation, adding that when the competition started earlier, winners were given automatic employment, but that, nowadays, employment may not be automatic as some may have to come in through the Graduate Trainee Programme of the company.
The Annual National Essay Competition, he said, commenced with the maiden edition in 2011 based on the insurer’s belief in developing talents and expanding the industry knowledge whilst encouraging research.
Efekoha said the topics of the competition were quite appropriate in view of pandemic and its impacts on business operations as some workers have to work remotely to achieve optimum result.
While believing that the pandemic is a threat but comes with opportunities for insurance industry, he said, the pandemic is gradually redefining the business model of underwriting firms across the country.
The second topic which focused on insecurity in the country, he said, is also apt because it dealt with the current challenge battling the country and opportunities in it for insurance industry.
“The Annual CHI Plc Essay Competition for Tertiary Institutions has since carved a niche for itself, and students of Insurance and Actually Science now increasingly look forward to participating in it. It is now an integral part of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects to which we shall continue to commit resources to,” he pointed out.
Earlier, Sunday Thomas, commissioner for Insurance/CEO, the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), had applauded the management of CHI Plc for this initiative, stating that, this will spread the gospel of insurance while deepening insurance education among students, in the long run.
Thomas, who was represented by Kenneth Egwu, deputy director said, the insurance company has shown leadership by using CSR to enhance human capital development.
He applauded the winners and called on them to continue to be good ambassadors of insurance industry wherever they are.
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