By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Chairman of Royal Exchange Plc, Mr Kenny Odogwu, has expressed the desire of the company to boost its revenues in the future through expansion of its presence in the retail segment of the insurance sector.
Speaking at the firm’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) recently in Lagos, Mr Odogwu described the retail market as the future of insurance in Nigeria, considering the population of the country.
He said with this in mind, the organisation would be looking into designing more insurance products tailored to meet demands in the retain market and should expect the segment to contribute about 50 to 60 percent to the total revenue generated by the insurer in the coming years.
“Royal Exchange Plc envisions a situation where the retail insurance market should be able to contribute between 50-60 percent of our revenues in the future, as the retail market is the future of insurance in Nigeria, considering the population of the country,” the Chairman told shareholders at the gathering.
Speaking further, he said, “Royal Exchange Plc will in the years to come, continue to be an aggressive player in the retail market in Nigeria and will be looking at different strategies to increase its product offering and visibility in the marketplace, while not losing track of the corporate market, where the returns and margins, are getting thinner, yearly.”
He said one of the ways the company would look to expand its presence in the market segment is the agricultural sector, noting that in the couple of months, revenues would start coming in from there.
He lauded the approval given to the firm by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) to undertake agricultural insurance, revealing that Royal Exchange has entered into strategic alliances with various stakeholders in the agricultural space to drive insurance with that sector of the economy
Commenting on the company’s performance in the 2018 financial year, he said it was better that the previous years despite the harsh operating environment in the country.
According to him, the insurance company performed well as a result of the cost optimisation initiatives, innovation in key categories and extensive retail market expansion as well as by participating in large-ticket financial transactions.
He said this led to the 15 percent rise in the gross written premium achieved by the firm, which left the GWP at N14.7 billion against N12.8 billion in 2017.
He said the net premium income for the period amounted to N9.1 billion which was a 29.7 percent growth over the 2018 figure; while net underwriting profit amounted to N9.73 billion in the financial year under review.
Net claims paid for the period under review amounted to N3.1 billion, an eight percent marginal reduction from the 2017 figure of N3.42 billion, while the underwriting profit improved to N3.67 billion in 2018 from N1.05 billion in 2017, with the net income closing at N4.35 billion from N2.4 billion in 2017.
Also, the total assets of the group witnessed a growth of 6.74 percent from N33.2 billion in 2017 to N35.53 billion as at December 31, 2018.
Dipo Olowookere 
Adedapo Adesanya