SIC to pay dividend next year

SIC Insurance Company Limited is charting a new direction in the insurance sector to ensure that it pays dividend to its shareholders next year, Mr Mike Allen Hammah, Board Chairman, has said.

To reap more profits and attract more shareholders, Mr Hammah said the Company is restructuring its operations, reviewing processes constantly and undertaking system auditing to identify gaps in premium payments.

Mr Hammah said this when answering questions posed to him by shareholders at the company’s 8th Annual General Meeting in Accra on Friday.

At the AGM, shareholders expressed worry over the non-payment of dividend by the company last year and opposed the increment of directors’ remuneration and the fix remuneration of auditors as well as re-elect or elect retiring directors.

Others also registered their displeasure over the non-issuance of credit guarantee by the company, which has been banned by the company, and the depreciation of shares on the stock market.

Mr Hammah told the shareholders that that the accounts of the company for the first quarter of the year showed positive results in their operations and attributed them to the interventions put in place by the board and management.

On the company premium income, Mr Hammah said it realised GH¢ 115, 702, 732 as Gross Earned Premium Income, indicating 17.85 per cent increase compared to the earned premium of GH¢ 98,181,730 in the year 2013.

“Net earned premium income after reinsurances increased by 12 per cent to GH¢ 73,582, 917 in the year 2014 from GH¢ 65,654,283 in the 2013,” he said.

The Board Chairman said SIC Insurance Company, however, made a loss of GH¢ 8,303,403 in the year 2013 and attributed the loss to the “single claim payment of GH¢ 19,723,648 made to Ivory Finance (including legal cost and other charges) under a credit guarantee bond the Company issued to ITAAL Construct International and the debt write off of GH¢ 6,629,218 in the year”.

Mr Hammah expressed unhappiness with the problem of enforcing the law on insurance of commercial properties and premium undercutting.

He said early this year, there were major fire outbreaks at the Ministry of Health Drugs Warehouse at Tema Light Industrial Area and the Tamale Teaching Hospitals.

However, the board Chairman noted, these facilities were not insured.

On the expectations of the company for this year, Mr Hammah announced plans to provide a 49 -bed on a four storey building ultra-modern hospital facility and venture into the real estate business.

He said the company would continue to improve on their service delivery, develop new products and maintain leadership through innovation.

Mr Kwei Mensah Ashidam, Acting Managing Director, noted that the proliferation of insurance companies in the country seems to offer more opportunities for individual and groups to contribute premiums to various schemes towards planned and secured future.

However, he said, the insurance industry “still suffers a negative public perception and other issues that continue to hamper the fulfilment of the industry potentials.

He told the shareholders that for the period ending 2014, the company paid GH¢ 32, 344, 609 as claims noting that the amount was higher than the previous year which stood at GH¢ 20, 787,537.