Mutual Benefits profit rises by 214%

Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc said its profit after income tax rose by 214 per cent to N3.61bn for the 2019 financial year from N1.15bn in 2018.

According to its audited account, the company’s gross premium written rose by 18 per cent from N15.84bn in 2018 to N18.7bn in 2019.

Mutual Benefits said its net premium income stood at N15.29bn, representing a 13 per cent increase from N13.48bn in 2018.

The company said its underwriting profit rose by 77 per cent to N5.4bn from N3.1bn in 2018, while net underwriting income increased by 13 per cent to 15.77bn from N13.96bn.

Its shareholders’ fund for the year under review stood at N13.43bn, a 50.33 per cent increase from the previous year’s N8.94bn, while total assets grew by 14 per cent from N59.4bn in 2018 to N67.8bn in 2019.

Mutual Benefits Assurance and its subsidiary, Mutual Benefits Life Assurance, paid combined claims of N21bn in 2019.

It added that the general business paid N3.2bn, while life business paid N17.8bn.

A breakdown of the claims paid by Mutual Benefits Life indicated that maturity claims accounted for the highest claims at N8bn, followed by surrender claims at N4.28bn and group life claims at N4.03b.

The company said partial withdrawal stood at N1.26bn with credit life, individual death claims, and annuity claims accounting for N75.59m, N105m and N45.62m respectively.

It said this represented a 12.1 per cent decrease from the total claims of N20.25 paid last year.

For the non-life business, gross claims paid was N3.2bn; motor claims being N1.22bn, followed by fire claims at N859m; while special risks (aviation/oil and gas) attracted N472.12m claims, and marine claims was N180.144m.

The Managing Director, Mutual Benefits Assurance, Femi Asenuga, said, “A twin approach of increased revenue drive and more robust underwriting process in 2019 ensured an impressive 77 per cent increase in underwriting profit from N3.1bn in 2018 to N5.4bn in 2019.”