“The journey of a thousand miles they say begin with a step”. No matter how rough that journey might be, the dogged and focused ones never lose sight of where they are headed; they keep forging ahead, reinventing the wheels over and over again.
This best describe the journey that one of Nigeria’s budding underwriting firms embarked upon some 23 years ago when it made its debut entry into the Nigerian Insurance landscape after metamorphosing from the then Grand Union Assurances Limited on January 2, 1995. Since then, it has been a journey of hope, foresight and forthrightness never minding the setbacks it encountered along the way.
Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc has clearly shown that a vision well-thought out will definitely stand the test of time. The company continues to forge ahead even at a period when a number of bookmakers prophesied doom for the Insurance Industry in the country.
More than two decades down the line, the Brand keeps waxing stronger by the day just as it has earned for itself a place of pride amongst the comity of insurance companies in the country. Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc continues to run with a futuristic vision of wanting “to be a leading brand, providing insurance and financial services of global standards”. In truth and indeed, the company has recorded a lot of pioneering initiatives yet to be rivaled by other competitors in the insurance industry in Nigeria over the years.
Undoubtedly, the company has established an indelible footprint in the insurance industry as one of the lead underwriters for most of the major oil and gas projects in the country with an ever growing profile year in, year out.
One very critical area the company has placed much emphasis on is in developing a versatile and well-qualified workforce; unarguably, one of the most prolific insurance companies in the country with a very dynamic and well-articulated workforce comprising of varied and highly skilled professionals who are constantly exposed to human capacity building. Brand experts see this development as a major plus for the organisation, knowing full well that the quality of any workforce will ultimately determine the performance level of that organisation. This became evidently clear in the last financial result of the underwriting firm when it surpassed its N7.5b target for 2017 with over N1.5b ending the year’s Gross Premium Income with N8.5b.
Just immediately after the recapitalization of insurance companies in the country, Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc submitted itself to a thorough solvency and liquidity test to ascertain the level of its capacity in the industry. At the end of the exercise conducted by a South African based Rating Agency, Global Credit Rating, (GCR), the company was rated A- by the international rating agency in 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 up to 2016 respectively.
The considerations for the rating were based on the high claims paying ability, the good mix of business across the risk classes, high profile of the multinational oil and downstream clients, increased underwriting capacity strengthened by the new capital base and geographical spread of the Branches in more than 16 locations across the country.
To date, the company has presence in Lagos with four Area offices in Apapa, Surulere, Ikeja and Lagos Central with the Head office on Victoria Island. Just recently, in deepening its reach in the Lagos business environ, two retail offices were opened in Lekki axis of the State and the Trade Fair Complex respectively. Other cities include: Aba, Akure, Enugu, Ibadan, Ilorin, Kaduna, Kano, Port Harcourt, Warri, Yenagoa and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
As a transiting world-class organization conscious of its brand equity, the company has a well-entrenched culture of upholding sound moral and professional ethics beyond profit. From inception, the company has significantly shown upward progression in every area of its operations making it one of the fastest growing and upwardly mobile insurance companies in the country.
As a brand, the organisation has in the last couple of years recorded remarkable successes in CSR initiatives and top-notch events in the country. It still remains the only Insurance brand that has endorsed an award category for insurance correspondents in Nigeria in perpetuity. The Diamond Award for Media Excellence, (DAME) for the best Insurance Reporter of the Year.
The first ever International Jazz Festival in Nigeria was sponsored by the company in 2008 tagged the Lagos International Jazz Festival fashioned after the Cape Town Jazz Festival held in South Africa on an annual basis. Till date, the company is the only Insurance Company that has ever undertaken an all-expense paid trip for soccer loving Nigerians to an international football competition when it sponsored some Nigerians to the 2008 African Cup of Nations in Accra, Ghana just as it was the official Insurer for the Nigerian Contingent to the All African Games in Algiers, Algeria in 2007.
The company’s CSR platform is hinged on 3 major pillars of Health, Sports and the Environment, HSE. Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc in 2009 revamped the dilapidated Shitta Roundabout in Surulere in the Lagos metropolis and has continued to maintain same up to this day.
In the area of support for the Arts, the company remains part of the success story of the multi-Award winning film, October 1 produced by one of Nigeria’s ace Movie Maker, Kunle Afolayan. The company also supported the award-winning Stage Drama, ‘KAKADU THE MUSICAL which later won laurels both at the local and international level.
Regarding its support for the Health Sector, the company has over the years amongst other initiatives been partnering with a Non-Governmental Organization, Teenage Life Foundation in creating awareness amongst Nigerian Youths on the need to have a HIV/AIDS free society.
The company has to its name series of corporate awards and appreciation plaques for its contributions to various developmental projects and initiatives across the country.
For Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc, the journey has just begun and the insurance industry is set to witness a new and more innovative way of doing insurance business in Nigeria.