Mrs Joyce Ojemudia
Text of the Speech delivered at the NCRIB Brokers Evening by Mrs Joyce Ojemudia, MD/CEO, African Alliance Insurance, on 23 February, 2021
The President, NCRIB,
Past Presidents and Elders,
The Chairman of Council,
Esteemed Board Members,
Council Members,
Distinguished Colleagues,
Gentlemen of the Press,
First, I thank the highly esteemed and honorable President and council members for giving us the opportunity to be the first hosts of the NCRIB members’ evening in 2021. Indeed, I thank you for this opportunity and consider it a privilege to stand here today. My profound gratitude also goes to the entire Brokers Community for finding us worthy of this honour especially at this time.
I stand here as an evangelist of insurance in general and African Alliance in particular. As we all know, African Alliance is Nigeria’s foremost indigenous life insurer, with 61 years of unmatched heritage in the industry. For some time now, we have been the subject of immense attention. This is not unconnected to our pride of place in the comity of insurers in Nigeria as well as our long history with NCRIB with whom we share same progenitor. Our pioneering efforts in product innovation is there for all to see.
RECAPITALIZATION
We know it will interest you to know what we are doing especially as it pertains to the elephant in the room, the recapitalisation of our company. We are glad to give you a detailed position this afternoon.
Recall that at several fora, we had highlighted 3 strategic direction to meet the then NAICOM threshold of N8bn. These 3 strategic direction are;
1. Asset Conversion
It delights us to inform you that on the 22nd of December, 2020, we concluded the sale of one of our main assets to raise some funds all of which have been reinvested into the business. We now have a healthy shareholders fund with increased asset base.
2. Rights Issue/New Investor
Furthermore, our Board of Directors as well as targeted significant shareholders are on the verge of injecting additional funds into the company through private placement which will further improve the capital base of the Company. This is expected to be concluded before the end of Q2 2021.
3. Business Combination
This would be considered in the event that the two options above don’t come through. However, this is a last resort and we might not explore this option at all.
CLAIMS PAYMENT
As many of you now know, in the first 40 days of 2021 business year alone, we paid N967m in claims. Breaking it down, we paid N148.2m to 155 individual life customers, N307.5m to 141 Group Life claimants, N124.1m to 168 Takaful claimants not forgetting , N387.3m to our annuitants. You will recall that in the last quarter of 2020, we paid over N2.3bn in claims in line with our continued drive for customer satisfaction. As at today, our GPI has increased by 105% compared with same period last year. Thanks, to all of you, because you made these happen!!
For the year 2020 figures, we are just waiting for the conclusion of external audit so we can provide information based on audited financials.
GOING FORWARD
In 2021 and beyond, we will continue to excite you with stakeholder-focused innovation, constant claims payment whilst using technology to scale operations. Our strategy is clear and simple: customer satisfaction at all cost. As you may know, we were recently certified by the International Organization for Standardization and awarded the ISO 22301, a testimonial to our highly effective competitive advantage with respect to organizational reputation, credibility, process, and resilience to environmental volatility. This is an assurance of our business continuity.
We have also restructured our claims department and customer services unit to give top of the range service to our esteemed customers and shortly we will be launching a claims app to ease filing of claims with quick response.
We hereby solicit your support on all fronts. Especially, by increased business patronage. Our team is way stronger than ever and we have remained steadfast in our commitment to do better by you, better by our customers and better by the books.
To the gentlemen of the Press, we seek your positive reportage at all times. Please allow us the benefit of feedback and response before you go to press.
Finally, ladies and gentlemen, the Holy Book says, Trust in the Lord, lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways, acknowledge Him, He will make your paths straight. Our trust is in the Lord, by His grace, African Alliance is rising. By your support, African Alliance will fulfill His divine plan for us.
Thank you for listening. Good afternoon.
