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Standard Alliance Life records N4.63bn premium income

By BusinessNews Staff on October 2, 2014

Standard Alliance Life Assurance Limited (SA Life), one of the life specialist insurers, has recorded gross premium income worth N4.63 billion for the year ended December 31, 2013.

The Chairman of the company, O’tega Emerhor, who made this known during the 14th annual general meeting(AGM) held in Lagos recently, said SA Life settled claims worth N2.78 billion during the same period.

According to him, individual and group life assurance premium income recorded by the company hit N3.45 billion while investment-linked products accounted for N1.18 billion during the period under review.

The company’s gross individual and group life assurance income was 17.3 per cent higher than the figure for the N2.94 billion the firm raked in the previous year.

However, out of this figure, the company was only able to rake in net premium income worth N1.28 billion as against the N2.05 billion made in the previous year.

It also raked in commission on reinsurance worth N185.65 million in the 2013 financial year as against the N201.71 million made in 2012.

The chairman said SA Life paid claims worth N2.78 billion to various policyholders and beneficiaries last year as against the N2.65 billion that was paid out in 2012.

“Group life assurance claims rose to N1.62 billion and while deposit administration withdrawal N1.16 billion last year,” he added.

O’tega noted that notwithstanding the improvement in gross premium income recorded in 2013, the company made a N1.02 billion underwriting loss as against N423.54 million loss it suffered last in 2012.

He explained that as a result of the enforcement of “No Premium No Cover” policy by the insurance regulator last year, covers commenced when individual policyholders paid their premiums.

He stated that the company only accounted for the portion of net premium income applicable to last year’s covers in its 2013 financial reports, adding the balance of the gross premium income would be reflect in the insurer’s 2014 financials.

“This was as a result of time apportionment principle applied in recording gross premium income in the year 2013,” Emerhor said.

The chairman said the company’s board was finalising strategies to ensure that the AGM is convened in July of every year subsequently.

Meanwhile, the Managing Director of the company, Mr. Austin Enajemo-Isire said 2013 was an eventful year for the insurance industry, saying the enforcement of no premium no cover was a plus and expected to enhance the cash flow and investment abilities of insurance companies.

This, he said, “created premium payment structure and teething timeline remittance challenges,” even as he strongly believed that in the years ahead, the industry would reap the benefit of the policy.

He stated optimism that the Takaful Insurance guidelines, which seeks to promote financial inclusion and insurance would afford insurers access to a new market.

The managing director, who noted that the insurance market was more competitive and challenging because of liquidity problems, said SA Life would “surmount challenges, mitigate risks as well as take advantage of profitable opportunities to further position the brand as one of the best.”
“We will not relent in our efforts to focus on improving our customers’ experiences and look for better ways of providing quality service delivery and take advantage of all the opportunity that will arise after the restructuring and recapitalisation of the company,” Enajemo-Isire assured.

[This Day]

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