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Segun Bankole
“The journey of a thousand miles, they say begin with a step”. No matter how rough that journey might be, the dogged and focused ones never lose sight of where they are headed. They keep forging ahead until the mission is finally achieved.
That illustration succinctly captures the journey that one of the very proactive insurance companies in the country has embarked upon. Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc has clearly shown that, the company is in a different and distinct league from other insurance companies in Nigeria as regards branding a Brand.
A brand that was born twenty-six years ago has shown streak of a firebrand that keeps improving year after year. The company which was a transformation of the former Grand Union Assurances Limited has metamorphosed to a respectable and dignified brand in today’s Nigeria’s Insurance Industry.
Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc has a futuristic vision of wanting “to be a leading brand, providing insurance and financial services of global standards”. In truth and indeed, the company has significantly remained focused on building an enduring brand in the face of various adversities as it continues to compete in the insurance industry in Nigeria.
Undoubtedly, the company has earned an enviable position in the insurance industry as one of the lead underwriters for most of the major oil and gas projects in the country with an ever-growing profile year in, year out.
One very critical area the company has placed much emphasis on is in developing a versatile and well-qualified workforce. Unarguably, one of the most prolific insurance companies in the country with a very dynamic and well-articulated workforce comprising of varied and highly skilled professionals who are constantly exposed to human capacity building. Brand experts see this development as a major plus for the organisation, knowing full well that the quality of any workforce will ultimately determine the performance level of that organisation.
As part of plans to make the Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc brand a household name nationally, the Management has set up machinery for establishing branches in all the major commercial cities in the country.
To date, the company has presence in Lagos with three Area offices in Apapa, Ikeja, Lagos Central and an Agency Office in Lekki while the Head office is situated on 17, Adetokunbo Ademola Street, Victoria Island, Lagos. Other cities include, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, FCT, Abuja, Aba, Akure, Enugu and Kaduna.
As a transiting world-class organization conscious of its brand equity, the company has a well-entrenched culture of upholding sound moral and professional ethics beyond profit. From inception, the company has significantly shown upward progression in every area of its operations making it one of the fastest growing and upwardly mobile insurance companies in the country.
As a brand, the organisation has in the last couple of years recorded remarkable successes in CSR initiatives and top-notch events in the country. It still remains the only Insurance brand that has endorsed an award category for insurance correspondents in Nigeria in perpetuity. The Diamond Award for Media Excellence, (DAME) for the best Insurance Reporter of the Year.
The first ever International Jazz Festival in Nigeria was sponsored by the company in 2008 tagged the Lagos International Jazz Festival fashioned after the Cape Town Jazz Festival held in South Africa on an annual basis. Till date, the company is the only Insurance Company that has ever undertaken an all-expense paid trip for soccer loving Nigerians to an international football competition when it sponsored some lucky Nigerians to the 2008 African Cup of Nations in Accra, Ghana, just as it was the official Insurer for the Nigerian Contingent to the All-African Games in Algiers, Algeria in 2007.
In the area of health and education, the company has over the years been partnering with different Non-Governmental Organizations and educational institutions notable amongst them are, the Teenage Life Foundation in creating awareness amongst Nigerian Youths on the need to have an HIV/AIDS free society. Igbobi College continues to enjoy positive collaboration on an annual basis from the Underwriting Firm with the Catch-Them-Young Insurance Workshop geared towards developing career paths in insurance amongst the students in future.
The company has to its credit, series of corporate awards and appreciation plaques for its contributions to various developmental projects and initiatives across the country.
For Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc, the journey has just begun, and the insurance industry is set to witness a new and more innovative way of doing insurance business in Nigeria amidst the challenges and opportunities that have trailed the emergence of covid-19 in the country and beyond.
Head, Sales and Corporate Communications, Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc, Segun Bankole
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