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We have settled over N2bn in outstanding claims – Fortis Global
By Rosemary Iwunze
The Acting Group Chief Executive Officer, CEO, of Fortis Global Group, Mr. Bode Akinboye has said that the company has paid out over N2 billion to retail customers as claims backlog.
Akinboye who disclosed this during a chat with insurance journalists, stated that the company is stable to offset all outstanding claims.
While revealing the recapitalisation journey of the Group, Akinboye said: “One of the first things we did was to reflect many things and to quickly review state of affairs of the company, particularly in relation to outstanding claims, which were the foundation problem for the company. That was after we have addressed the issue of new ownership, and new board of directors.
“And I am happy to inform you that we have fully paid all the pensioners. We paid them almost N700 million in outstanding pension benefits. We have since then sustained monthly payments to them. We then moved on to the individuals that also bought investment-linked policies. We have also reconciled that and we paid quite a lot of that. We stabilized the business. We’ve also taken on the group life claims, death claims, through brokers. And we have worked out a payment plan. In all we’ve exceeded over two billion in our payments to stabilize what I call retail customers. So we are at the point now where anybody that calls me to ask for their claim, we just reconcile that, verify and pay. So there is stability now.
“We have, through innovative method, stabilized the capital of the company, revalued the assets and also injected additional cash into the business and also paid off the long-standing debt bond. So through the combination of that, we’re able to scale the recapitalization order. We made the first list that came out.”
Akinboye said that the company is strengthening its human capital assets, train them and motivate them to be able to go out and serve the customer better.
He said: We have reviewed all our products, so we have the products. We have the people. The next is the process. Our technology, our systems, everything we are working on. So we are done with housecleaning. We are now out to engage with our customers. We have tried our best and we continue to try our best to delight them. And we have prepared our system to be able to ensure that we guarantee timely payments of claims, genuine claims. And beyond that, we are a very innovative organisation. We will do insurance in a different way. Now we have a new face for the industry. What we need to do is to engage more with the customers to understand their needs and to build insurance providers and to sell them better. That’s what we need because insurance is real. Insurance can work.”
Akinboye said that the company is customer-focused, protecting lifestyle, and what people value.
“We are out to render insurance in a unique way to the market. And we also use technology. So it is more about doing it in a different way that will be unique to our own system. It’s about speed, it’s about flexibility, it’s about understanding the customer and about going extra mile to ensure that the customer is happy and they get value from insurance.”
Going forward, Akinboye said that to add value to customers, they will simplify insurance products, simplify the processes of buying it, and simplify the knowledge so people can understand what they are buying.
He said: “But beyond that, how does insurance impact the economy? It’s not just about selling premium. It’s about how do we build knowledge and understanding of insurance from the young people, because these are the people that become key decision makers, and they will run the big economy. What we were used to growing up is that when we finish schooling, we go and get a salary job. But now, what is at stake is that people have their businesses online. From their phone, they do business. So, those are the areas that we’re looking at. To make sure we cater for every strata of the economy. Of course, we’re going to compete in the traditional business. But we want to be unique in catering for specific needs. And we do empowerment, knowledge, and building capacity for people to understand the benefit and the value of insurance. It’s like catching them young. When they grow old, they will not miss it. We will develop insurance ambassadors that will help to popularize insurance.”
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