Underwriting firm boosts sector’s growth with N12.8b profit

Royal Exchange Plc has reported a gross written premium of N12.8 billion from its business activities in the year ended December 31, 2017, compared to N12.5 billion in 2016.

The company said its net premium income for the 2017 financial year amounted to N7.1 billion, while underwriting profit amounted to N7.6 billion in the financial year under review.

The total assets of the group grew by five per cent from N31.7 billion in 2016, to N33.3 billion as of December 31, 2017.

Contrastingly, net claims paid for the period under review dropped by four per cent to N3.4 billion from N3.6 billion in 2016, while net income before management expenses declined to N2.4 billion from the N2.7 billion that was generated in 2016.

The Group Managing Director of the company, Alhaji Auwalu Muktari, said despite the very harsh operating environment, the group was able to grow its figures, by participating in large-ticket financial transactions, as well as playing in the retail insurance market, which he said would be a key growth driver in the years ahead.

“Royal Exchange envisions a situation where the retail insurance market should be able to contribute between 50-60 per cent of our revenues in the future, as the retail market is the future of insurance in Nigeria, considering the population of the country,” he said.

He noted that with the recent approval from the National Insurance Commission to undertake agricultural insurance, the company had entered into strategic alliances with various stakeholders in the sector to drive insurance.