Adedapo Adesanya
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria’s insurance sector, in the second quarter of this year 2022, recorded N369.28 billion premium, indicating 20.1 per cent growth compared to the performance in the same period the previous year.
This was contained in the latest sector performance statistics released by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), which indicated a 65.0 per cent quarter-on-quarter performance.
Describing this as a notable performance, NAICOM said the performance analysis was an insight into the market behaviour of the insurance sector in the period under review.
Giving a premium contribution analysis by each class of business, the commission said out of the N369.2 billion, life insurance contributed N150.0 billion, followed by oil and gas insurance which yielded N71.2 billion, fire insurance yielded N45 .3 billion, while motor insurance yielded N32.4 billion, with marine insurance contributing N26.9 billion premiums and general accident policy yielding N24.0 billion.
According to NAICOM, the performance showed that the insurance sector grew 20.1 per cent higher than the National Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 3.5 per cent during the same period.
NAICOM said the proportional participation of each class of business suggested the continued improvement of the life insurance business as driven by its component of the individual life, noting that the Non-Life segment maintained its primacy at 59.3 per cent of the total premium generated.
“Insights in the segment show Oil & Gas was the leading driver at 32.5 per cent with a distant second at 20.7 per cent for Fire. Motor Insurance stood at 14.8 per cent while Marine & Aviation, General Accident and Miscellaneous reported a share of 12.3 per cent, 10.9 per cent and 8.9 per cent in this order.
“Life business, on the other hand, recorded 40.6 per cent of the insurance market production as its share contribution, gradually closing up. The share of Annuity in the Life Insurance business logged at about 24.7 per cent while Individual Life held a major driver position at 41.8 per cent of the premium generated during the period”, the commission said.
NAICOM said operational confidence remained high in spite of economic challenges in the financial system and the economy at large, as demonstrated by the relevant retention positions in the sector.
According to the commission, Life business retention for the period was 93 per cent while non-life recorded a ratio of 55 per cent as the industry average stood at about 70.5 per cent.
The commission said retention in the non-life, despite reporting an above-average level relative to its prior position of 59.4 per cent in the preceding year, would require focused attention for improvement as it declined by over four points representing eight per cent, year on year.
The commission said the sector during the period witnessed only 0.2 per cent growth in claims compared to the corresponding period of 2021. It said the industry’s statistics for gross claims in Q2 of 2022 stood at N174.8 billion, representing 47.3 per cent of all premiums generated during the period.
“This occasion reflects the professional underwriting capacity of the industry as driven by the intensified regulatory activities of the Commission. On the other hand, the net claims paid stood at about N148.2 billion, signifying 84.8 per cent of all gross claims reported during the period. The Life Insurance business recorded a near perfect point of about 88.90 per cent claims settlement as against the reported claims while the non-life segment stood at about 76.8 per cent”, NAICOM said.
According to the commission, the performance in the Oil & gas in terms of claims settlement recorded some improvement compared to quarter two of the previous year.
The commission was optimistic that sustained market development and growing confidence in the industry would eventually improve the negative peculiarities and challenges of that section of the market.
Profit-wise, NAICOM said the Insurance market remained profitable during the period, recording an overall industry average of about 56.9 per cent, thereby maintaining a relative position of 57.7 per cent recorded in the corresponding period of the preceding year.
