Lagos, July 7, 2023: Universal Insurance Plc on Thursday said it had recorded a total premium income of N8.8 billion in the first half of the year.
Dr Benedict Ujaotuonu, the Managing Director of the insurance company, said this at a meeting with newsmen in Lagos.
Ujaotuonu explained that the underwriter posted N3.7 billion and N5.1 billion as total premium income in the first and second quarters, respectively, to record N8.8 billion in the first half of the year.
He said the N5.1 billion generated by the firm in the second quarter of the year was almost the total of its overall premium generated in 2022.
“We are targeting a total of N10 billion premium income at the end of this year and with our current performance, we are very optimistic and hopeful to meet the target.
“Our target for 2024, of course, will be derived from our performance at the end of 2023, but our premium income target for 2024 is between N15 billion to N18 billion,” he said.
On the company’s previous performance, the managing director revealed that the underwriter wrote a total premium income of about N3.6 billion in 2021 and N5.6 billion in 2022, representing a 58 per cent growth.
According to him, profit after tax of the insurance firm in 2022 was N618 million.
“We are hopeful that at the end of this year, we are going to wipe off our negative retained earnings and declare dividends to our shareholders.
“One of the greatest things we have been able to achieve is positive projection and acceptability in the market, which has added so much to us,” he said.
Ujoatuonu stated that the company’s shareholders fund currently stood at N19.8 billion, with an asset base of N12.4 billion, while fully paid shares and issued share capital were at N16 billion and N8 billion, respectively.
He noted that Universal aims at driving its growth in the retail space with pocket-friendly top-on-the-line products, designed to include and satisfy low-income earners, as well as artisans in various fields of endeavours.
According to him, the underwriter is poised to be a giant in risk-bearing and fully computerised to drive excellence in service delivery, prompt claim settlements and customer-centricity.
