BY NKECHI NAECHE-ESEZOBOR— FBS Reinsurance Limited (FBS Re), one of Nigeria’s youngest reinsurance companies has shown has continued to show it’s commitment to take over Africa Reinsurance market.
Having commenced operations in 2021, FBS Re in its one year of business recorded a gross written premium of N7.906 billion, underscoring strong growth opportunity in the Nigerian market, expertise and experience brought in by company managers.
Speaking to journalists at the just concluded African Insurance Organisatio (AIO) Conference held in Nairobi, Kenya, Fola Daniel, managing director/CEO, said the company in its first year of operation closed with total assets in excess of N15.8 billion, from just about N10 billion at commencement.
He said FBS Re was licensed in November, 25, 2020 by the National Insurance Commission( NAICOM) and commenced operations in January 1, 2021.
According to him, the company was in the process of achieving 100 per cent of its target capital in line with on-going NAICOM’s new capital requirement.
The Chairman, Board of Directors, Bala Zakariyau, said this during the firm’s first annual general meeting in Lagos.
“Your company just completed first year of operation and generated gross written premium of N7.9 billion ($19 million) and earned profit before tax of N505.47 million ($1.2 million). I wish to congratulate the board, management, staff, cedants, retrocessionaires, our brokers and all the stakeholders of FBS Re for this good first year performance despite the harsh economic realities caused by the pandemic.”
Zakariyau said global reinsurance industry gross income was estimated at $450bn in 2021 with percentage growth expectations of six per cent CAGR over the next four years to reach $600 billion by 2025.
Nigerian insurance industry, he said, continued to present enormous potential for investors, especially in the reinsurance sub sector.
He noted that the industry was operating in the biggest economy in Africa with obvious demographic advantage, middle-class expansion and insurance penetration now of only 0.3 per cent.
Daniel noted that ” the company is service- centric with bouquets that aligns clearly with customer needs in the oil and gas space, agriculture, life/non-life and retakaful,” he said.
Daniel said the company’s expertise and network were expected to move the company to a pan-African reinsurance platform in the next three to five years.
He noted that presently the firm is the only reinsurance company around that has Munich Reinsurance backing and is participating in five treaties.
“We have enjoyed tremendous goodwill. We are poised not to abuse the goodwill.
“We are lucky to have the best technical crew, which helped us to hit the ground running. This gave much confidence to the market.”
On claims payment he said: “We have continued to show commitments to settlement of claims within 12 working hours.”
He noted that it’s commitment to claims make has prevented the question of sending reminder on claims, which he said is not tolerated in the firm.
On capacity he said: “We are boosting capacity in new areas such as cyber security and bankers blanket bonds for the financial services sector. This will enable insurance market operators to key into emerging business opportunities and overcome future challenges. This was intended to further establish FBS Reinsurance as a company determined to deepen insurance penetration in the sub region.”
On bankers blanket bond, he said it is a form of ‘all-risk insurance policy’ aimed at providing financial protection to banks and other finance houses against operational losses which they may incur in their lending activities; Whilst the Cyber Insurance, Electronic/Computer fraud will give cover against technology- induced losses to organizations caused by these new risks.
“FBS Re will continue to share knowledge with its cedants and the insurance industry with a view to enable the industry to innovate and underwrite their businesses profitably,”
Daniel maintained that the planned Life training programme was designed to innovate life underwriting to meet the complexities in the digital environment, enhance public awareness, and create acceptance of life insurance policy as a veritable instrument of security for borrowers.
He added that the FBS RE’s initiative at developing new opportunities for our cedars was designed to grow their premium and create new relevance for insurance services within the framework of financial services value chain.
