Yemisi Izuora
FBNInsurance Limited has announced a Profit Before Tax (PBT) of N3.13 billion in its 2016 operations.
The figure represents 70 percent increase compared to N1.8 billion achieved in the previous year.
However, the firm’s gross premium written (GPW) dropped by four per cent from N10.3 billion in 2015 to N9.9 billion in 2016.
Meanwhile, FBN General Insurance also recorded a gross premium income of N2.2 billion in its 2016 financial year, representing 17.4 percent increase when compared to N1.8 billion achieved in the corresponding period of 2015.
Its claims expenses also rose by 24 per cent from N205 million to N270 million in the year under review.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of FBNInsurance Limited, Val Ojumah, attributed the strong performance to a combination of factors including the deployment of innovative products, deeper retail penetration, robust risk management, efficient service delivery and the commitment of its staff.
According to him, Our overall performance indicates a strong earning capacity and robust capital base to sustain future growth.
For instance, our Return on Equity (RoE) improved from 18 percent in 2015 to 29 percent in 2016 and Return on Assets (RoA) grew from 9 percent in 2015 to 11 percent in 2016. Our underwriting margin also remained positive throughout the year.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of FBN General Insurance, Bode Opadokun, said the performance is a direct reflection of shrewd management efforts at expanding her client base, excellent underwriting capabilities as well as increased customer acceptance of the brand.
According to him, insurance thrives on trust. You will agree with me that payment of claims is perhaps the best way for an insurance company to demonstrate it is worthy of the customer’s trust.
“That we paid more claims this year than the last shows our customers trust us more and are willing to allow us to bear more of the risks they would normally bear themselves. This lends credence to the widely known fact that we are not just a responsible insurer, we are responsive and committed to our policyholders’ wellbeing at all times,” he said.
According to details of the audited accounts, the company’s total assets stood at N6.1billion, an impressive 11.9 percent increase from the N5.3billion it had last year.“In a year where economic uncertainties badly affected many company’s asset bases, we were able to increase ours by almost a billion naira.
This is an indication of our strength in depth arising from a solid heritage and consistent investment in quality staff,” Opadokun reiterated.Industry watchers have praised the new leadership of FBN General Insurance for such a commendable year-end result.