Guinea Insurance Plc has said it paid N142 million in claims to its customers in the 2022 financial year.
The Chairman of the company, Mr Ugochukwu Godson, disclosed this while presenting the audited accounts for the year ended December 31, 2022, during the company’s 65th Annual General Meeting in Lagos.
“As an indication that the company met its obligations to policyholders by efficiently and effectively settling claims, claims expenses in 2022 stood at N142 million, representing an increase of 194.63 per cent over the N48.2 million recorded in 2021,” he said.
According to the report he presented, highlights of the report included gross premium written of N1.359bn, representing a 0.22 per cent increase over the N1.356bn recorded in 2021; gross premium income increased from N1.34bn in 2021 to N1.39bn in 2022, representing a 3.73 per cent increase; net premium income increased to N960m in 2022, representing a 9.18 per cent increase over the N879m recorded in 2021.
“This growth was attributed to the company’s expansion into new markets as well as improved underwriting and risk management practices,” he said.
However, he said in order to achieve its quest for sustainable success and growth, the company had developed and implemented certain expansion plans.
The chairman said: “It is important to note that the company’s expansion initiatives were essential and required significant up-front costs, such as increased operating expenses, capital investments and research and development expenditure.
“These factors had a temporary impact on the company’s financial performance, resulting in a significant increase in the loss after tax. Specifically, the loss after tax increased from N23.4 million in 2021 to N64.7 million in 2022, representing a significant increase of 176.50 per cent.”
Income tax expense in 2022, he said, was N7.9m, representing 78.40 per cent compared to N36.5m recorded in 2021, as a result of effective tax planning strategies implemented by the company.
