Leadway

Lagos, July 5, 2023: Leadway Assurance Ltd., on Tuesday, said it was on course with the implementation of the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS 17).

Mr Raphael Akomolede, of the Finance Department of the insurance company, stated this while delivering a paper at a training organised by the insurer for journalists covering the insurance and pension industries in Lagos.

The title of the paper is: The Impact of IFRS 17 on the Insurance Industry.

The IFRS 17 is an international financial reporting standard developed by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) for all insurance companies across the globe with effect from Jan. 1.

IFRS 17 replaces IFRS 4, which was the temporary standard formerly used, and provides new standards for reporting the financials of insurance firms.

Akomolede explained that the main objective of the IFRS 17 is to standardise insurance accounting globally and help account users to make sensible differences between companies, their past performances, current financial position and risk exposure.

He stated that one of the deficiencies of the IFRS 4 was that the standard was domesticated by insurance firms in their various countries using the local Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) to measure insurance contracts.

According to him, the IFRS 4 does not provide a single way to account for insurance contracts and existing accounting, which makes it difficult for investors to see which groups of contracts are profit-making and which are not.

Akomolede commended the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) for providing a roadmap for the implementation of the IFRS 17 for insurance industry in Nigeria.

He noted that the commission had been working assiduously since 2019 towards ensuring the full adoption of IFRS 17 in Nigeria.

“For the first time, there is a single IFRS accounting model for all types of insurance contracts that will be transparent and aligned to general IFRS accounting of other industries.

“The IFRS 17 will cover the methods for calculating the liabilities for insurance contracts and the resulting new profits recognise pattern for these contracts,” he said.

According to him, Leadway has completed the solution design for the standard, which takes care of Gap Analysis, Financial and Operational Impact Assessment, designed future state of finance process and Technology Gap Analysis Development.

Akomolede said the solution provided also caters for documentation and review of target operating model, preparation of technical documents, reviews and vendor selection for IFRS 17.

According to him, relevant departments of the underwriting firm are working simultaneously on system testing, pre and post- implementation, review and production of the 2021 and 2022 financial positions.

He said the relevant departments would also produce interim IFRS 17 compliant financial statements of the insurance company, including the transition disclosure.

Leadway Assurance Limited said it detected a potential threat to its network and has promptly deployed mitigation measures to contain the cyber attack.

This is contained in a statement signed by Ms Femi Olayinka, the Strategy and Innovations Manager, Modion Communications for Leadway in Lagos.

The firm noted that its preliminary investigation into the criminal intrusion indicates that the attack was successfully contained.

“We have initiated our business continuity plan to ensure that proprietary information and data are secured.

“We would like to notify you that our essential operations have been restored and we are working tirelessly to ensure minimal disruptions to our operations,” it said.

Olayinka stressed that protecting customers’ data remained a top priority of the insurance company, as it has done in the last five decades.

‘`During this period, all our customers are encouraged to ignore any unsolicited correspondence from any channel different from our officially designated channels of communication.

“In the meantime, while our team is adhering to all regulatory requirements, we will continue to provide updates to all our stakeholders’’, she said.

Leadway Assurance Plc is one of Nigeria’s foremost insurance service companies committed to bridging the financial protection gap and increasing insurance penetration in the country.

Leadway Assurance has becomes the first Nigerian Insurance Company to cross a three-digit billion mark with a total premium collection of N104.4 billion in 2022.

This is contained in a statement by Ms Femi Olayinka, Strategy And Innovations Manager, Modion Communications for Leadway on Sunday in Lagos.

The statement said, the company recorded Gross Written Premium of N92.5 billion, its Savings and Investment is N10.8 billion and another N1.1 billion from its Ivorien insurance subsidiary.

It stated that Leadway paid N57.5billion as claims in the year under review, to sustain its position as the leading claims payer insurer in the industry, consistently in the last seven years.

“The company consolidated its financial strength in the year under review having recorded an increase in its total asset base from N502 billion in 2021 to N535 billion in 2022.

” Risk premium significantly rose from N71 billion in the previous year to N93 billion in 2022.

” Consequently, the group recorded a 26 per cent increase in total premium from N83 billion in 2021 to N104.4 billion in 2022 .

“The growth was attributed to the insurer’s ability to acquire new businesses for Group Life and its capacity to renew existing businesses.

Commenting, Mr Tunde Hassan-Odukale, Managing Director, Leadway Assurance said the company was committed to prompt claims payment to its esteemed policyholders.

Odukale noted that despite the uncertainties and complexities surrounding the economic realities in the country and across the world, the underwriting firm would not fail in its claims payment obligation.

“We are delighted in the company’s 2022 financial performance that saw us record yet another industry milestone of improved claims payout to policyholders, despite the prevailing economic conditions and the debilitating double-digit inflationary pressures.

” This is could be attributed to our attractiveness to new customers and the confidence of existing ones to renew their policy contracts, to afford us the headroom for growth and enabling our unwavering commitment to our policyholders,” he said.

According to him, Leadway remains well-positioned, strengthened and financially secured to continuously deliver its mandate of outstanding risk management and wealth creation to its policyholders.

Odukale assured that the insurance firm would continue to sustain value creation to its stakeholders and as market leaders, bolster customers’ confidence in the industry.

He said: “This performance further amplifies our quest to deepen insurance penetration in Nigeria and on the continent.

In his remarks, the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Leadway Assurance, Gen.Martin Luther Agwai said as a flexible and market-sensitive company, Leadway remains resilient and resolute in the execution of its business strategy and engagement with stakeholders across the value chain.

Agwai said: ” We remain firmly committed to intensifying and amplifying our group synergy towards enhancing our business reach and replicating successes achieved in Nigeria across other regions in Africa.

Leadway Assurance is one of the Nigeria’s foremost insurance companies committed to bridging the financial protection gap and increasing insurance penetration in Nigeria through its efficient and effective customer service delivery.