• Friday, March 29, 2024
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Cornerstone Insurance clocks 30, remaining stable, resilient

AGM 1

Underwriting group, Cornerstone Insurance Plc has cut its 30th Anniversary cake, remaining stable and resilient despite the harsh operating environment.

Segun Adebanji, chairman, Cornerstone Insurance Plc, cutting the Company 30th Anniversary cake with management and shareholders at its 29th annual general meeting held in Lagos, applauded the doggedness and commitment of the board and management to sustain the achievements of the company to date.

While, applauding shareholders for the confidence in the mangers of the business, he thanked customers for the confidence and long standing loyalty.

He disclosed at the meeting that the Gross Premium Written of Cornerstone Insurance grew to N17.53 billion at the end of 2020 financial year, representing an increase of 34 percent over the figure in 2019.

Read Also: Cornerstone Insurance eyes top spot in industry, posts N3bn net income

He said “The year’s global and domestic economic events had significant repercussions for the financial services sub-sector in Nigeria. The Board and Management of your Company however acted proactively to minimize the effects on our financial performance. Our financial performance can also be attributed to our focus on strengthening our enterprise risk management framework over the past few years.

“Premiums from life insurance grew from N3.84 billion in the previous year to N5.54 billion in 2020 and accounted for 31 percent of Gross Premium Written. The largest contributors to General Business Gross Premium Written were (i) Oil, Gas & Aviation, (ii) Engineering & (iii) Motor classes, contributing N3.53 billion, N2.86 billion and N1.52 billion respectively.

“Our investment portfolios also yielded positive performance figures, driven mainly by the effect of changes in foreign exchange rates and also from sales of foreign currency denominated assets during the year. Investment and Treasury activities contributed N3.73 billion to overall revenue.

“The gross claims ratio for the year stood at 41 percent and has been relatively stable year on year since the Company put in place stricter risk acceptance parameters. “Even though the overall ratio of claims to revenue has remained relatively stable, the effects of the Q4 2020 protests are clearly noticeable in our financial statements, as non-life gross claims incurred increased by 62 percent when compared with the previous year and gross claims from the fire class specifically rose by 85 percent, from N816 million in 2019 to N1.51 billion.

“Consequently, our Group ended the year with a profit before tax of N1.76 billion.”

On the outlook of the company, Segun Adebanji said, while 2021 may not be a year for expansion, it is a year in which we are discovering new strengths and capabilities as the world embraces new ways of working and communicating through technology.

“Your Board, therefore, anticipates new opportunities for the insurance industry and for Cornerstone as we venture into this new normal. In Cornerstone, we believe the market is changing and should be served differently.” “Therefore, we seek to adapt our offerings to meet the specific needs of our diverse customers. We focus on the integrity of our service and leverage extensive use of technology in product development and service delivery, the chairman said.