Cornerstone grossed N17.53 billion premium in 2020

Despite the challenging business environment, Cornerstone Insurance Plc recorded a gross premium written of N17.53 billion in 2020.

The Chairman, Segun Adebanji, at the firm’s 29th virtual yearly general meeting, disclosed that the feat represented an increase of 34 per cent compared with the preceding year.

He noted that premium from the life insurance grew from N3.84 billion in the previous year to N5.54 billion, which accounted for 31 per cent of the gross premium written and that the largest contributors to general business premium were oil and gas, aviation, engineering and motor business, contributing N3.53 billion, N2.86 billion and N1.52 billion respectively.

Adebanji said that the investment portfolios also yielded positive figures, driven mainly by the effect of changes in foreign exchange rates and sales of foreign-currency-denominated assets during the year. Investment and treasury activities contributed N3.73 billion to overall revenue, he said.

According to him, the gross claims increased by 41 per cent and have been relatively stable year-on-year since the company put in place stricter risk acceptance meters. He added that the firm’s net claims payment stood at N3.95 billion.

He posited that though the overall ratio of revenue claims has remained relatively stable, the effects of the Q4 2020 protests are noticeable in the firm’s financial statements, as non-life gross claims incurred increased by 62 per cent, when compared with the previous year and gross claims from the fire class specifically rose by 85 per cent, from N816 million in 2019 to N1.51 billion.

Adebanji maintained that personnel and other operating costs dropped by close to seven per cent as management executed remote working protocols and other measures to safeguard the welfare of staff.

“Our investment in a robust nationwide technology infrastructure over the years ensured that normal operations were carried out unabated. Consequently, our group ended the year with a profit before tax of N1.76 billion,” he said.

He said the firm’s financial performance can be attributed to its focus on strengthening enterprise risk management frameworks over the past few years.