The coming of FBS Reinsurance Company Limited (FBS Re) into the Nigerian insurance market over the last four years has increased market capacity and bigger retention in the domestic and African risk management industry.
With the insurance industry’s gross written premium or turnover in Nigeria on a steady rise and risks becoming more complex, the demand for reinsurance services has become more pressing than ever, creating a significant market opportunity.
With FBS Re, gross written premium in 2023 standing at N31.44 billion, the reinsurer, backed by institutional shareholders like Leadway Assurance, Custodian and Allied Group, Standard Insurance Consultants, Scib Nigeria Limited, and YOA Re Brokers is posed to save Africa from challenges faced with the recurring exit of foreign reinsurers.
The African market over time has been experiencing foreign reinsurers withdrawing their capacities, especially during any foreign currency liquidity crisis, which, unfortunately, is a perennial occurrence on the continent, and so the need for local capacity cannot therefore be underestimated.
These foreign companies’ impromptu exits usually disrupt corporate planning efforts, erode much-needed stable reinsurance capacity, and increase the cost of business. Thus, the markets face capacity availability volatility to provide for growing Industrial, Energy, Aviation, and Marine risks.
The scenarios were what compelled a group of mostly Nigerian insurance and reinsurance professionals to establish FBS Reinsurance Nigeria Limited (FBS Re) to reduce the capacity gaps and to conserve the economy’s scarce foreign exchange.
FBS Reinsurance, the latest and only local reinsurer established in Nigeria in 35 years, was registered in 2016, got an operating license in late 2020, and commenced actual business operations on January 1, 2021.
Read also: FBS Re appoints Ganiyu Musa MD/CEO
Fola Daniel, a reinsurance expert and former commissioner for insurance, was appointed the pioneer chief executive officer of FBS Re and Bala Zakariyau, an iconic figure in the insurance and reinsurance business, leads the Board of Directors.
Other members of the board are- Steve Kyerematen, a reputed Ghanaian internationally acknowledged reinsurer; Yusuf Hamisu Abubakar (OON), a legal luminary and governance expert; Wole Oshin, a leading entrepreneur and seasoned insurance practitioner who is also chairman of Custodian & Allied group of companies; Ahmed Olaniyi Salawudeen, a doyen of insurance broking, and Ebele Okeke, an engineer is Nigeria’s first female civil engineer and the first female head of the Federal Civil Service as an Independent Director in FBS RE.
FBS RE also leverages the business and other strategic relationships of frontline insurance companies that are institutional shareholders.
Through hard work, FBS Re is fast emerging as a significant African reinsurance player, with highlights of the results showing that in 2021, 2022, and 2023, the company recorded Gross Premium Written (GPW) of N7.91 billion, N16.59 billion, and N31.44 billion, respectively.
Having laid a strong foundation for future growth, the Board of FBS RE have now decided to restructure the Board and management. The founding CEO, Fola Daniel, and COO, Steve Kyerematen, who had stepped down as CEO and COO, respectively, were reappointed as Non-executive directors of the company.
Ganiyu Musa, a former deputy managing director of Africa Reinsurance Corporation and past GMD of Cornerstone Insurance Plc, took the role of MD/CEO, while Shola Ajibade, director of operations, was appointed executive director of Technical and Business Development.
The company successfully concluded its 3rd Annual General Meeting on July 30, 2024, and approved far-reaching resolutions that will further consolidate the company’s role in Nigeria and Africa in the coming years.
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