Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, of Law Union & Rock Plc, Mr. Jide Orimolade in this interview speaks on  how the recent flood in some parts of the country has compelled the company to adopt dynamic rating.

By Rosemary Onuoha and Cynthia Alo

WITH the recent floods in some parts of the country, do we expect insurers to increase rate for that class of business?

We are conversant with the recent floods in some parts of the country. So in terms of flood and fire insurance, the rate we can give to somebody at Magodo (Lagos subub) for fire and special perils is not the same rate for someone in    Victoria Island, Lagos. For flood risk, we are very dynamic in terms of the rate  we offer.

NAICOM said MDs and Chief Finance Officers will be held responsible for late submission of accounts, is it being implemented?

It’s not just MDs and CFOs, even to the board level there is an undertaking that we have signed. So any account that is coming late, the CFO and MD are responsible. At Law Union & Rock I can boast of our account, even things that normally other organizations doesn’t make provisions for, we go the extra length to make provision for.

•Mr. Jide Orimolade

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In terms of outstanding claims, we don’t joke with it.

How has your company been able to pull through the economic downturn?

For us we look at the positives. Things might not be rosy for the economy but our belief is that things will be positive for our nation. We look at the opportunities in the country. The government has been trying to see how they can repair the economy.

There are a lot of things the government is looking at, such as the gap in    infrastructure, and for me and our organization we leverage on these opportunities. Again, government is preaching local content in the sense that instead of us doing a lot of importation, what are the things we can start doing in this country to help entrepreneurs.

For us at Law Union & Rock, we are looking at all the various opportunities to be able to take advantage.

How do you intend to achieve your goal of 50% increase in premium income for the year?

Our target is to attain 50 percent growth in premium income this year. Though we are presently at 17 percent compared to last year,  we are putting lots of strategies in place to be able to attain the 50 percent growth. We have told the stakeholders that we are looking at 50 percent, so for us it is a challenge. However, we set a target for ourselves and it is not the board that set it for us. We believe that we will be able to meet up with the target at the end of the year.

What is your strategy for customer retention?

Retaining customers is one of our strategic drives. For the customers we have in our books, we give them 100 per cent best service delivery because it is the customers you have in your books that can give you lots of referrals. If you treat them very well, they will give you lots of businesses at the end of the day. For us at Law Union & Rock, this is something we don’t joke with. 

What areas of business do you have a firm hold on?

If you look at the various businesses that we have currently, I stand bold to say we are very much entrenched in the engineering class of business. This is one area where the company stands bold. In the 80s and 90s, when it comes to engineering insurance, Law Union & Rock was the best. We are regaining that position; hence, we are leading on most of the engineering products or class of business in the market. In terms of training, we have increased the tempo of trainings for our staff so that we can be a group when it comes to engineering insurance. 

What are your plans to grow you branch network?

Any branch set up is meant to be a profit center, and if a branch is not making profit, there is no reason allowing it to operate. The company is not an NGO. However, if the business from a particular area can sustain a branch, we don’t think twice, we go ahead to set up a branch there and get on the move. We have 13 branches now and they can cover the whole of the federation.

If you look at the geopolitical area in the country, the branches have been able to cover it. We are trying to use technology to power those branches. It is not about the number of branches you have. I know some banks and some insurance companies that have fewer branches but because of how robust their technology is they are able to get larger share in the market. Also we intend to use bancassurance to deepen our branch network. You don’t have to have so many once you have a technology that you can use to get to wherever some branches may not necessary get to. Also with the bancassurance platform, we should be able to get to where some branches are not getting.

Are you looking at getting ISO  certification?

We  are working on the process to have ISO certification. Possibly it might not be this year but by next year we should be able to put this on the table.

Fake insurance certificate is high with marine   insurance, how have you been able to cope?

We will not do anything that negates NAICOM policy of ‘no premium, no cover’.   We have been able to make it very easy for customers through our website. So customers   can go online, make payment but when you do this without payment you are not covered. We don’t joke with  our process and process flow.

Any business that comes in, be rest assured that either   a broker has given us the credit note to confirm the business or if it comes directly, we then go ahead to book.  In  the area of health,  we are the leading underwriter on professional indemnity. What we use to wow our clients is standard customer service, claim settlement and IT. Once we engage them in those three forms, they are always eager to come back.

What is the secret of your success?

The secret, I will say is not timeliness but a mindset. Corporate performance is a mindset. It is about realizing the importance of your stakeholders, realizing that you are a public interest institution and that you are not just there for yourself. When you have the corporate performance mindset or attitude, your force is not just the board or regulator but everybody.

So when you are working, you are not working to avoid   sanctions rather your mindset is how to put out information that will make your stakeholders informed and be confident that their investments are in good hands.