Dr. Benedict Ujoatuonu, the Managing Director of Universal Insurance Plc, says the adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS 17) for insurance operations has been challenging.Ujoatuonu said this at a news conference held on Monday in Lagos.
He noted that insurance operators were making every effort to adapt to the new reporting standard, acknowledging its permanence and global acceptance.
BRANDPOWER reports that IFRS 17 is an international financial standard issued by the International Accounting Standards Board in May 2017.
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It replaced IFRS 4 for accounting for insurance contracts, effective Jan. 1, 2023.
Regarding the business environment, the managing director said that the cost of running a business had increased by about 150 per cent, but insurers were managing to cope.
On bond and guarantee insurance, Ujoatuonu stated that Universal Insurance has risen to become one of the leading insurers in this class of business in Nigeria.
He noted that the company had consistently exhibited expertise in bond insurance, maximising its potential, and had recorded significant profits in this class of insurance business.
He said, “We are one of the few companies that profitably underwrite bonds or guarantee insurance, and it was a deliberate, well-thought-out strategy from the beginning.
“I am a thoroughbred underwriter with a focus on bond or guarantee insurance.
“When I saw that many insurance companies were avoiding this class of business, we sat down as a company to figure out how to make it profitable. We did it and it has been working for us.”
According to him, the insurance company’s commitment to this class of business has earned it contracts for bond and guarantee insurance from the current government.
BRANDPOWER reports that bond insurance is a type of insurance whereby an insurance company guarantees scheduled payments of interest and principal on a bond or other security in the event of a payment default by the issuer of the bond or security.
