Amaka Obiefuna.

The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has approved 2016 financial accounts of underwriting firm – Guinea Insurance Plc, the Executive Director, Finance and Administration, Pius Edobor has confirmed. According to him “The approval was contained in a letter signed on behalf of the Commission by its Director (Supervision) Mr. O. Oba, dated 6^th July 2017 and captioned: Approval for Publication of Year 2016 Annual Returns and Accounts”.

This in effect signifies that Guinea Insurance is one of the underwriting firms that have secured NAICOM’s approval upon submission of its 2016 International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) based accounts to NAICOM as stipulated in the 2003 Insurance Act.

Edobor, in a statement in Lagos, underscored that the Company was well–positioned to take advantage of the competitive terrain as it continued to progress on the directions and efforts of its Board, Management and staff.

In his words: “We are alive to our responsibilities of consolidating and strategically growing market share through decisive long-term investments and customer engagement initiatives. Against the background of a complicated national economic environment in the financial year ended December 31, 2016, the Company delivered a relatively good underlying performance”.

According to him, the underwriting firm grew its Gross Written Premium by 4.18% from N870million in 2015 to N907million achieved in 2016. Shareholders’ Fund in 2016 was 2.897billion and N2.899billion in 2015 representing a marginal drop of 0.08%. Profit Before Tax margin grew by 194.64% from N46.9million in 2015 to N138million in 2016. Profit After Tax grew by 134.87% from N7.2million loss experienced in 2015 to N2.5millon profit recorded in 2016. He added that the company successfully overcame the challenge of solvency margin during the year as its solvency margin stood at N3,014,791,000 (Three Billion, Fourteen Million, Seven Hundred & Ninety-One Thousand Naira) in 2016 as against the previous year 2015 when the solvency margin was N2,981,596,000 (Two Billion, Nine Hundred Eighty-One Million, Five Hundred & Ninety-Six Thousand Naira).

He said: “Customer satisfaction is the pivot of our Company’s achievements and this, inevitably builds brand loyalty. We are a formidable team destined for greatness and propelled by a Board of Directors and Management team that keep the faith that there are no limits, there are only plateaus and we will continually strive to remain on the path of profitability and growth”.