Wednesday 27 August 2014

Paper presented by the Managing Director Union Assurance at brokers' evening

UNION ASSURANCE PRESENTATION




AT



THE NIGERIAN COUNCIL OF REGISTERED INSURANCE BROKERS MEMBERS EVENING



BY

GODWIN E. ODAH
MANAGING DIRECTOR/CEO.
President and Chairman of Governing Council;
Members of the Governing Council of the Nigeria Council of Registered Insurance Brokers;
The Executive Secretary, NCRIB;
Distinguished Brokers present;
Captains of Industries;
Distinguished Guests;
Members of the Press;
Ladies and Gentlemen
Opening Remarks
Company Overview on Pre and Post 2009
Key Milestones
Strategic Focus
UBN Divestment
Performance at a Glance
Appreciation
The Management and Staff of Union Assurance are grateful to the Board of NCRIB for granting our request to sponsor this unique event there by also giving us the opportunity to interact with the distinguished members of the insurance broking community. You are our invaluable partners in the industry.

We would like to acknowledge your role in improving insurance penetration in Nigeria.
The fact that 70% (estimate) of insurance business generated today is through the broker channel attest to your critical role in the development of our industry.
This is testimony to your commitment and diligence.
At Union Assurance, we appreciate the important role that Brokers play in the insurance industry.
That explains why we prioritized the brokers channel above every other channel in our Enterprise Transformation Project started in 2009.
The much progress that we have made today is attributable largely to the encouraging support we received from your members.

By way of numbers, our income from the Brokers Channel grew from 12% in 2009 to over 55% to date. On the other hand we have reduced our dependence on revenue from the bank significantly from about 75% in 2008 to 15% to date.

Brief Overview of our organization:


Pre 2009:

Incorporated as a private limited liability company in 1993;
Commenced operations in 1998 as a composite insurance company;
Head Office was on a single floor shared with a department of Union Bank at Stallion Plaza,36,Marina;


A captive company dependent on Union Bank for about 75% of her premium income;

Gross written premium as at end of year 2008 stood at N2,716,999,000(Generalbusiness-N1,978,266,000;Life-743,633,000 A foot print of 11 Branch Offices;

A staff strength of 180.

 


2009:The Enterprise Transformation Project.
Main Objectives:
To transform the Union Assurance enterprise from a captive company to a main stream player in the insurance industry;
To actualize the Company’s full capacity and potential as a composite company;


Modernise operations and processes for efficient service delivery;

Ingrain an integrity-based culture;

Improve corporate brand.




Acquired a 10-storey office facility at 95,Broad Street and moved to the location in February 2010;
Steered the company through the difficult years of CBN intervention in Union Bank (2009 through 2012);

Diversified the income base of the company by deepening focus on opportunities outside the Union Bank Group, namely:



Build credibility with Brokers;

Aggressive expansion of UACL foot prints:
Life Retail-over 1350 agents across the country;
24 full fledged branches and 6 Rep offices;

Increased focus on personal Lines business;
Established Public sector’s desk;
Established Bancassurance relationships with other banks;
Established Energy Desk (Oil, Gas and Power)
Involved the Internal staff in income generation;


Establishment of Product Development and Business Intelligence Desk;

Development of five new products, namely:


Union Assurance Care Plan
Union Assurance Credit Line
Union Assurance Farewell Plan
Union Assurance Diaspora Plan
Union Partners Business Continuity Plan
Growth in qualitative human Capital-Current staff strength is 218;
Launch of Enterprise IT Change Management project incorporating:

- Core business application integrated across all functions;

- Document management system;

- Business process workflow system;

Establishment of a Learning and Development Academy for retooling of staff members;
Launch of a Culture Change initiative-The Change Champions aimed at attitude re-orientation;
Establishment of Staff Performance Appreciation and Reward Scheme aimed at encouraging healthy competition and performance;

At Union Assurance we have our eyes set on the future, with an overall objective of making UACL one of the top five insurance companies in the nearest future (measured in all performance indices).
To this end the management of Union Assurance decided to develop and implement the BALANCED SCORECARD - an integrated strategic planning and performance management system that:
Communicates with clarity our vision, mission and strategy to employees and other stakeholders.
Aligns our day-to-day work to vision and strategy
Provides a framework for prioritizing our programmes and projects
Uses strategic performance measures and targets to measure progress.

This framework is to better prepare us for future challenges and to support our future planned growth. The results of a rigorous organizational assessment, customer needs analysis and value proposition brought us to our new Vision and Mission.

Vision: To be the most valuable insurance and risk management solutions provider in our chosen market.

Mission: To provide innovative insurance and risk-management solutions to delight our customers.
c initiatives for 2014 - 2018
Following the CBN directives on universal banking, I am pleased to inform our distinguished brokers that Union Bank is in the final stage of complying with this CBN requirement by divesting its 93% shareholding in Union Assurance. As soon as the formal regulatory approvals are secured, we shall be glad to unveil the new owners of the company to our stakeholders including the broking community.

Without much doubt, the years 2014 and 2015 promises to produce interesting and exciting performance for the company as we transit through these phases.

The company is determined to build and deepen its relationship with your members, we are currently working on some initiatives that will transform the way we do business with our brokers, helping them to sustain their businesses. At an appropriate time this new initiative will be unveiled to our esteemed Partners. Some of these initiatives include:

Helping to improve partners technical capabilities
Business growth support
Product development
Specialised market support

Distinguished Council members, ladies and gentlemen; Once again, we express our profound gratitude for this opportunity to fraternize with you and further thank you for patronage and encouragement we got from you over the years, and look forward to working with you to build together our beloved industry.

Long live Federal Republic of Nigeria!
Long live Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers!
Long live Union Assurance Co. Plc!
God bless us all!
 



Godwin E. Odah

MD/CE, Union Assurance Co. Plc
August 26, 2014.
 
 

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