Ebere Nwoji
IFC, International Finance Corporation (IFC) , a member of the World Bank Group, has announced a grant of N3.8 billion ( $20 million) convertible loan to AIICO Insurance Plc.
The loan, according to the Managing Director of AIICO Insurance Edwin Igbiti, is the global finance institution’s support to the insurance underwriting firm for its expansion activities across Nigeria.
He said the plan by the company to expand its insurance services in the country will help to increase economic security, as well as create the development of new asset pools that can be invested in order to support economic development, including job creation.
The deal will be signed tomorrow at AIICO Insurance corporate head office in Lagos.
Igbiti also said the company will use the loan facility to increase its agency network and retail centers and increase its reach and footprint across the country.
He further said the facility will also enable AIICO to further strengthen its information technology platform to achieve greater efficiency in claims processing and customer services.
According to him, “AIICO Insurance Plc offers life and non-life insurance products to individuals, households, and businesses with a focus on value creation.
“Partnering with IFC will help AIICO expand its activities further to meet the needs of the consumers who require more options. It will improve AIICO’s operational efficiency and strengthen the economic security and prosperity in Nigeria, Igbiti stated.”
IFC’s global insurance strategy aims to increase the penetration of insurance in underserved markets, promoting diverse products and developing long-term partnerships with institutions that can help expand its developmental goals.
Eme Essien Lore, IFC Country Manager for Nigeria said, Availability of insurance coverage is an important enabler of managing economic risk and promoting security of consumers and private businesses. IFC’s support to AIICO’s expansion reinforces the underwriting company’s commitment to improving social stability and economic growth in Nigeria.”
IFC encourages a diverse range of insurance products, including property, health, agro, life, micro insurance and pensions.
The corporation also mobilizes additional resources through global and regional insurance companies, other developmental financial institutions, and financial investors.
AIICO Insurance PLC is of the market leaders in Life assurance and annuity services market and offers life, non-life insurance, pension management, health insurance and asset management. It is the second largest insurer in Nigeria by gross premiums and has maintained a top three position over the last five years.
Contributory Pension is Pivotal to National Devt, Says Ideva
The Managing Director of Premium Pension Limited, Mr. Wilson Ideva, has said the new contributory pension scheme is pivotal to the social and economic development of Nigeria. Ideva made this assertion at the company’s corporate head office in Abuja recently.
He said the more people identify with and subscribe to the new pension scheme, the more they remain assured of a secure future and the more funds are amassed under the scheme for national development.
Ideva said signs of this is very glaring pointing out that some of the remarkable infrastructural development witnessed recently was the product of pension funds invested through government bonds.”
Ideva noted that various other sectors would begin in no distant time to benefit from the scheme, adding that the previous unfunded defined benefit scheme remains a far cry from the new contributory pension scheme in terms of the advantages and possibilities unpacked by the latter.
“While the old defined benefit scheme left a deficit of over two trillion Naira and contributed to the numerous huddles in the payment of pension benefits, the new scheme is closing in on the sum of five trillion Naira as funds under management even with less than 10 per cent market penetration,” he stated
He further noted that while the old scheme was fraught with corruption and inconsistencies, the contributory pension scheme has made life more comfortable for retirees and kept corruption at bay.
“Since 2004 I do not think that people still queue up to access pension benefits” he said. “People now go to their pension fund administrators to get their benefits as soon as they retire.”
Against the backdrop of the reviewed Pension Reform Act 2014, which has among other things extended the scheme to the informal sector, Ideva stressed on the need for increased public awareness to enable the industry to profit from the inherent immense opportunities and also erase the negative impression inherited from the old scheme.
According to him, the unpleasant activities associated with the old scheme are still negatively affecting the attitude of some Nigerians towards the new scheme” he noted. “We now have what we call transfer of negative impression in the industry.”
He also said there is need to dissociate the new contributory pension scheme from the old unfunded defined benefit scheme and position the industry for growth to the next level.
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