Four winners are honored with the Excellence in Insurance Awards. This sector appears to be at a crossroads, opening up to a wider audience, demonstrating its usefulness in Africa’s growth, but facing major challenges.
The African Reinsurance Company organized the sixth edition of the African Insurance Excellence Awards. Over 1,250 professionals participated in the 2020 edition which took place online on Friday, December 18, 2020. The winners of the four award categories have been announced.
Alpha Direct Insurance Company, of Botswana, won the Innovation of the Year award. The company has developed an easy-to-understand, ready-to-use insurance product that provides low-income households with access to essential insurance products and services. Its platform is unique and original: a free scratch card allows you to join in 60 seconds. It is accessible to all mobile users, even those with a very basic telephone.
Mauritius Union Assurance (MUA Ltd) of Mauritius received the Insurance Company of the Year award. The strong and steady growth of the company over the past three years, the successful digitization of its services and its customer-oriented strategies have earned it the title by jury consensus.
PULA from Kenya was awarded the AssurTech of the Year award. The company has developed a solution that allows smallholder farmers to easily access insurance products. PULA has also partnered with the World Food Program (UNDP) to insure 3.5 million farmers in ten African countries.
Valentine Ojumah, Managing Director of FBN Insurance, Nigeria, was elected Managing Director of the Year. This former broker has made FBN Insurance a very successful company in terms of premium growth (3rd position in life insurance), profitability, equity and return on equity. Under his leadership, his company oversaw a strategic acquisition. In June 2020, the capital of FNB Insurance was bought by the South African group Sanlam.
This year, during the awards ceremony, two debates with sector leaders such as Richard Lowe (Activa, Cameroon), Hammam Badr (ISKAN, Egypt), Patrick Tumbo (Sanlam, Kenya), Dominic Christian (Aon, United Kingdom) as well as renowned economists such as Ludovic Subran and Carlos Lopez, gave the opportunity to reflect on the impact of Covid-19 on the African economy, especially on the insurance sector, and on how to rebuild after the pandemic.
Promote good management!
Among other elements, speakers insisted on the role of data collection and processing, which is essential in the insurance business. Despite recent progress, Africa still appears to be lagging behind in this area. However, the year 2020 has shown the crucial role that insurance companies can play in Africa’s resilience, by supporting structuring projects for the continent. Insurers are now also targeting populations hitherto neglected.
In her congratulatory message, Corneille Karekezi, Managing Director of Africa Re, greeted all the nominees and announced that each winner would receive a sum of $25,000. “You have made all of us in the insurance industry proud and even more determined to succeed and serve our clients and our communities in order to better manage the risks they face,” he said.
“In accordance with its mission,” said a statement from the group, “Africa Re has created the Excellence in Insurance in Africa awards to promote good management, leadership and good governance.” The innovation and sustainable growth of the sector are also recognized.
These awards aim to reward and celebrate the best leaders and actors in the insurance sector in Africa, recognize and promote innovation in this sector, foster sustainable growth in insurance premium and business profitability. And add value to the sector by sharing experiences and good practices.
Reference: https://www.africaninsuranceawards.org/
