Elumelu: Heirs Insurance Democratising Access to Insurance in Nigeria

Ebere Nwoji

The Group Chairman, Heirs Holdings, the parent body of Heirs Insurance Group, Mr Tony Elumelu, has said that the remarkable year-on-year impressive growth achieved by the group in its 2023 financial result is a demonstration of its unwavering commitment to democratising access to insurance and delivering enduring value to stakeholders. 

Elumelu stated this while commenting on the financial results of the group for 2023 published at the weekend.

Going by its financial performance in the 2023 business outing, Heirs Insurance Group achieved remarkable year-on-year growth in all aspects of its business activities growing profit by 203 per cent.

The financial performance indicators in the result highlighted the group’s resilience and operational efficiency.

According to the results, Heirs General and Life insurance companies, collectively recorded 59.30 per cent increase in Gross Written Premium (GWP), from N19.9 billion in 2022 to N31.7 billion, for the year ended December 31, 2023.

In addition, the group’s earned insurance revenue for year 2023 stood at N20.5 billion, showing 80 per cent growth from N11.3 billion in 2022, an indication that in its four years of operation in the ever competitive Nigerian insurance market, Heirs Insurance Group is one of the fast growing insurance groups in Nigeria.

Giving a breakdown of the performance, Elumelu said Heirs General Insurance (HGI), the non-life arm of Heirs Insurance Group, reported 77 percent increase in GWP, rising from N8.5 billion in 2022 to N12billion in 2023.  

Total assets for 2023 stood at N18.1billion, showing 27.4 percent increase from N14.2 billion recorded in 2022.  Profit Before Tax (PBT) grew from N791million in FY2022 to N2.4 billion in FY2023, indicating staggering 203 per cent growth.

The Heirs Insurance boss said this signaled the company’s effective cost management and strategic growth initiatives. 

According to him, Heirs General Insurance also reported a net investment income of N1.4bn for 2023, indicating 45 increase from the preceding year. 

He also said the impressive top and bottom-line growth underscored the company’s ongoing development and its unwavering focus on delivering value to clients.

Demonstrating its commitment to customer satisfaction and upholding customer trust, Heirs General Insurance also disbursed N1.6 billion to policyholders in claims settlement, up from N471million it paid in the prior year. 

He said the sharp rise in claims settlement emphasised the company’s commitment to customers and its dedication to keeping service promises, with a strong focus on timely and transparent claims processing.

He further said Heirs Life Assurance, the specialist life insurance arm of Heirs Insurance Group, equally delivered phenomenal results with 71 percent growth in gross written premium rising from N11.5 billion in 2022 to N19.7 billion in 2023. 

He said the life underwriting firm also demonstrated financial discipline, posting 143 rise in investment income, from N1.1billion in FY2022 to N2.8billion in FY2023. 

Profit Before Tax (PBT) increased by 395 per cent from N379million in 2022 to N1.8billion in 2023.

In terms of claims payment, the Heirs Insurance boss said Heirs Life disbursed N2.5billion in 2023, representing 119 percent increase over the previous year’s N1.1billion, reflecting its commitment to delivering timely financial relief to its customers during their times of need.