Universal Insurance promises good returns on investment

Universal Insurance Plc has assured its shareholders good returns on their investments as the company begins to implement its long term plan to bring the underwriting firm to prominence.

The Managing Director, Universal Insurance Plc, Mr. Benedict Ujoatuonu, who stated this in an interview with journalists at the end of the February edition of Brokers’ Evening, which the company sponsored in Yaba, Lagos, last week, noted that the company, for the past four years, has been consistently making profit, from a loss position the company was when the current management took over in 2010.

Managing Director, Universal Insurance Plc, Mr. Ben Ujoatuonu

“When we took over the business in 2010, the company was making loss consistently. In 2011, of course, there was loss, in 2012, we posted profit. In 2013, we posted profit. In 2012, we made a profit of about N197 million, in 2013, we made a profit of about N318 million, in 2014, we recorded N487 million profit. So, consistently, we have put the company on the path of profitability,” he said.

Stating that the company was exposed to investment in equities listed on the floor of Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) during the capital market bubble, he said the crash in the market really affected the investment of Universal Insurance, hence, the current management inherited over N2.5 billion general loss that went into the general reserve of the company.

He noted that the loss, as it stands, has been reduced to N1.5 billion, promising that the loss would be wiped off in the next five years, so that the company could be able to pay dividend to shareholders.

“With what we are doing in the long term plan, our expectation is that, putting together all these efforts, we are going to wipe off that loss over a period of five years and be able to give return on investment to our shareholders in terms of dividend. That is an articulated plan,” he pointed out.

From 2011 till now, he said the total claims paid by the company was about N200 million, saying, in 2015 alone, the insurance firm paid N96 million.

Giving the reasons for the low claims paid, he said: “Universal Insurance have had consistent growth and in this business, it is not about bogus figures. What matters most at the end of the day is your bottom line. And in claims, the technical ability and sound ability you have in terms of selecting your risks is germane. We are not reckless in terms of accepting risk, we want to consistently grow our portfolio and maintain our level and that we have done to build confidence over the years.”

He promised that the firm would continue to settle genuine claims, while pursuing its articulated plans judiciously.

Ujoatuonu, however, pointed out that his insurer is leveraging on electronic platforms to deepen its operations, adding that the company is working assiduously to be amongst the top ten insurance firms in the country.
He noted that the firm would soon engage more hands to drive its operations, even as plans are in top gear to open more branches.

He called on the public to embrace insurance especially now that the economy is faced with challenges, adding that the firm would continue to ensure that appropriate insurance products are made available to meet the needs of the insuring public.