Insurers Pay N648.16bn Claims in Five Years

Insurers Pay N648.16bn Claims in Five Years

Ebere Nwoji

The insurance industry, in the past five years (2014-2018), paid a total of N648.16 billion as claims to the insuring public.

Out of this, Life insurance underwriters, paid N315.47 billion, while non-life operators within the same period paid N332.69 billion.

Report from the latest edition of the Insurance Digest, published by the Nigeria Insurers Association (NIA), the umbrella body of insurance underwriters, revealed that in 2018, out of the total N211.5 billion claims incurred by the insurance sector, out of which it had paid a total of N193.5 billion, 81 per cent of the claims came from the South-west zone of the country, just as claims from fraudulent activities cost the industry over N350 million within the period.

The report showed that NEM Insurance, paid the largest claims amounting to N115.20 million in the period under review,  which was paid to Union Bank Plc. The bank also got N62.38 million claims from Cornerstone Insurance Plc.

NEM Insurance Plc also paid N13.13 million claims to Whyte Cleon Limited, while AIICO Insurance Plc paid N9.33 million to Union Bank Plc, and Leadway Assurance Limited paid the bank N9.22 million.

Royal Exchange General Insurance Company Limited, paid N6.86 million to Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria Plc, while other banks and organisations got different amounts for losses they suffered on fraudulent acts.

Commenting on claims payment by the industry, the Head, General Business Claims and Associate Director,  Leadway Assurance, Mr Ogunedina Adekunle, said, insurance firms were in business to pay claims.

He said no genuine insurer would be scared by quantum of claims.

He said, “if insurers could pay this kind of claim, there is no reason any genuine claim will not be paid except firms that want to be mischievous,” adding that in the Nigerian insurance industry, such firms have come up in the past and today, they have fallen by the way side.

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