An underwriting firm, SUNU Assurances Nigeria Plc, has declared a dividend of 3 kobo per share of 50 kobo ordinary shares held for the year ended December 31, 2022.

The Chairman of the insurance company, Kyari Bukar, said at the firm’s yearly general meeting in Lagos that the dividend was paid, following high financial records as the gross written premium (GWP) increased by 18.5 per cent to N5.77 billion in 2022 from N4.87 billion recorded in 2021.

Bukar said that claims paid fell from N2.07 billion in 2021 to N1.47 billion in 2022, indicating a reduction of 28.8 per cent. According to the chairman, this represented 93.1 per cent of the paid claims budget for the year 2022, which was due to favourable claims experience during the year.

He said the company’s net claims expenses increased by 41.4 per cent to N1.21 billion in 2022 from N859 million in 2021, showing an overshoot of N261 million, above the N953 million budgeted for the year under review.

Bukar submitted that environmental risks, such as flood, fidelity guarantee, goods in transit and motor claims affected the firm’s performance adversely.

He said the company reported an underwriting profit of N1.49 billion, which represented 77.2 per cent of the N1.93 billion budget for the year, while its profit increased by 0.6 per cent from N1.48 billion in 2021.

According to him, the insurer’s profit after tax for the year under review was N330 million, which reflected an underperformance of the 2022 target of N399 million but outperformed the N127 million profit it made in 2021.

The Chairman maintained that the company’s board would continue to articulate, implement and review the adequacy and effectiveness of risk management.

Bukar said the board would also maintain an internal control system in line with Nigerian Code on Corporate Governance (NCCG) to manage its risks, and opportunities and promote meaningful engagement with its stakeholders.

In his address, the Managing Director, SUNU Assurances, Samuel Ogbodu, appreciated the company’s valued shareholders for their continuous support. Ogbodu revealed that the underwriter had put in place strategic plans to ensure growth and enable it to pay more dividends in the coming year.