By Giwa SHILE
Zenith Insurance recorded gross premium written of N12.5 billion during its last financial year ended December 31, 2017, representing 12 per cent increase over the N11.116 billion recorded in 2016.
The company’s financial statements, which were approved by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) on April 20, 2018, also Indicated that its net assets stood at N23 billion, one of the highest in the country’s insurance industry.
The company, one of the youngest in the industry, had a solvency ratio of 634 per cent in 2017, indicating that it could cover its minimum regulatory solvency requirement six times over.
Its gross premium income was N12.806 billion, up from N11.187 billion in 2016, while its net premium income stood at N8.090 billion, up from the N7.446 billion in 2016.
Analysis of the company’s results in 2017 showed that the company’s fees and commission income jumped by 37 per cent from N907 million in 2016 to N1.245 billion in 2017.
The results showed that net underwriting income also rose from N8.354 billion in 2016 to N9.336 billion, while profit before tax dropped to N4.750 billion from N5.927 billion in 2016 owing to the high claims, increase in management expenses and high tax expenses.
The company’s return on equity was 15.5 per cent in spite of the strong economic headwinds in 2017.
It paid total claims of N6.7 billion in 2017, an increase of 36 per cent over the N4.7 billion paid in 2016, representing total claims ratio of 58 per cent.
