Sovereign Trust Insurance emerges Insurance Company of the year

KELVIN EGERUE

The Editorial board of Champion Newspapers Limited rose from its first quarter 2020 meeting to announce Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc as Champion Newspaper’s Insurance Company of the year 2019.

The 25 year old Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc was selected from a list of five high profile insurance and reinsurance companies operating in Nigeria and across the West African insurance market which were shortlisted for the award.

Already the Executive Management and Board of Directors of Champion Newspaper have approved the selection of Sovereign Trust Insurance as the Insurance Company of the year saying that the risk management and underwriting company parades outstanding profile which has come to stand as the benchmark for measuring successful organizations in Nigeria.

In a letter to the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc Mr. Olaotan Soyinka conveying the award, the Group Managing Director and Editor-In-Chief of Champion Newspapers Limited Dr. (Mrs.) Nwadiuto Iheakanwa noted Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc’s impressive performances in key revenue lines including the company’s compliance to all regulatory requirements especially in the areas of capital adequacy and solvency margins.

“On all scores, our findings, largely corroborated by that of independent assessors, confirm that Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc under your management has become an insurance company of first choice among teeming customers given its array of cutting edge products which have earned the financial institution commendations from informed economic analysts”, the Editor-In-Chief had revealed.

She had gone further to note the “uncommon zeal and commitment of Sovereign Trust Insurance to growing Nigeria’s economy by supporting business and boosting the development of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, MSMEs which are the engine of real development of the nation’s economy through mobilization of funds needed for investment, prompt, effective and efficient payment of genuine claims”

Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc will be standing in the podium to receive the award with such other institutions as Globacom Limited which was voted the telecommunication company of the year, Barr. Allen Onyema of Air Peace Airline as Man of the Year award recipient, Governor of Cross River State Prof Ben. Ayade as the Governor of the year, Zenith Bank Plc’s Chief Executive Officer Mr. Ebenezere Onyeagwu and Fidelity Bank Plc which emerged as Bank of the year. Oil giant Seplat is also on the honour’s list as well as GiG Logistics.

Expressing gratitude for the choice of Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc as the Insurance Company of the year, the company’s chief image maker Mr. Olusegun Bankole said that such recognition will challenge the insurance company to do more in the areas of prompt and equitable payment of claims and evolution of insurance products and services which will meet the needs of existing and emerging clients.

“We are indeed very humbled by this gesture and would like to thank your organization for considering us worthy of such a noble Award.

“We are very proud to be associated with Champion Newspapers Limited and what it represents in the larger society. We look forward to a more rewarding and mutually beneficial relationship in the years ahead”, Mr. Bankole said.

Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc commenced business in January 1995 following the restructuring and recapitalization of the then Grand Union Assurances Limited. The Company went into operation with an authorized and paid up capital of N30 million and N20 million respectively.

Currently, its authorized share capital is N7.5 billion divided into 15 billion units of 50 kobo per share. STI has a fully paid-up capital and Shareholders’ funds of over N4.1billion and N6.3 billion respectively. The ownership of the company is made up of diverse shareholders from wide range of individuals and institutional investors with a robust Board of Directors of distinguished personalities.

Following the Federal Government’s directive on recapitalization and consolidation which ended on February 28, 2007, Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc was among the licensed companies to underwrite general insurance business having consummated a merger arrangement with the erstwhile Confidence Insurance Plc, Coral International Insurance Company Limited and Prime Trust Insurance Company Limited.

From inception, the company moved from an average industry rating to a leading position, investing in the best of people and technology, improving on processes, growing market share at an average annual growth rate of 30%, and thereby expanding its balance sheet size.

The vision of one of the company’s founder Mr. Oluseun  Ajayi ably amplified with the support of a prominent boardroom guru and entrepreneur in the person of Chief Ephraim  Faloughi has today, become a household name in the insurance industry in Nigeria.

Together, this duo and the pioneering members of management and staff nurtured the company from birth to maturity and ever since, the journey has been forward-looking for a better tomorrow for the underwriting firm.

Two and half decades after, Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc has indeed made commendable strides in the insurance industry in Nigeria. From inception, the company moved from an average industry rating to a leading position, investing in the best of people and technology, improving on processes, growing market share at an average annual growth rate of 30%, while consistently expanding the balance sheet size of the company.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the underwriting firm, Mr. Olaotan Soyinka used the occasion has always remained grateful to the company’s customers and associates alike for their patronage, support and the belief in the story called Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc.

  “As a transiting world-class organization conscious of our brand equity, the company has a well-entrenched culture of upholding sound moral and professional ethics beyond profit.

“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 underwriting insurance business in Nigeria”, he had submitted.

For a better society