Insurance firms were small players in pre-consolidation Thomas

Before consolidation,an average insurance company in Nigeria was a small player. We didn’t have the means to do many things required of a real insurance company when compared with our peers in developed economies. We lacked the required financial base, and quality human capital which spread thinly over many companies. But post consolidation, the financial base has substantially gone up and we now have a pulling of more financial resources and quality human capital. Take Crusader General for example, we now have six companies fused into one. What we have as Crusader General today is the human capital of Crusader of before, Royal Trust, Refuge, Admiral, Golden and Trust &Guarantee Insurance companies. With the current managing director from Trust & Guarantee bringing his wealth of experience, and my self coming from the old Crusader and down the line our colleagues are from different backgrounds too, definitely, the terrain has changed, which of course is better for the stakeholders, the shareholders, insuring public, the company itself and even the government by reason of better tax.

When a group of people share knowledge with one another , new things come in, that is what insurance consolidation has brought to many organisations. Like in Crusader, before now, what we had was the generic products that every other insurance company had. But today, we have tailor made polices exclusive to Crusader. In our motor policy for instance, we have derivatives for insuring pubic to choose from. We have the regular motor, we have the auto plus, which has been expanded with additional benefits that is not found else where. For the property insurance, we have the "Home Shield Policy," which tries to visualise the risk exposures of a house occupier. When you occupy a house as tenant or landlord, your contents can get burnt, thieves can come in, and from either of these perils we can give you comfort. If in the event of either of these, say robbery attack or fire and in an attempt to escape you injured, , it’s a fatal accident; we can provide you the comfort because there is personal accident cover inside that peril. If you are a tenant for example, and you pay for a year rent and three months down the line there is fire, you are entitled to be reimbursed by the landlord for the nine month unused period. But in this part of the world, you may even be comforting your landlord while looking for alternative place to move your family and your belongings. But, crusader Home Shield would provide you money as you have insured for alternative accommodation within the policy structure. If by reason of your occupying a house and your dog injures a third party or something happens to your neighbor there is compensation. The same Home Shield is a five product in one combination and the premium is calculated based on additional benefits attached. There is premium of N10, 000- per annum for a unit especially for a beginner and those in Ikoyi and Victoria Island can take10 units.

There is also another product designed for those exposed to day to day risks, an accident policy called "Safety Plus". And again we have done it in units. It is so cheap and about N100 per month. Everybody can afford to have an accident policy from Crusader called Safety Plus and it gives you comfort from issues of life and regular exposures that every human being is exposed to either from using a car, moving about and all that. There are chances of risks once you are on the road, in your work place, in the farm, everywhere.

The premium is so low, just about N20 per day to enable every body afford it. You can pay per day, you can pay per week, and you can also pay monthly or annually. An Okada rider, a tailor, a bricklayer, or a shop attendant who earns daily can pick it up.

These products are new and as I said, we have flair for innovativeness. With the coming together of many professionals in Crusader, ideas has been crystallised and we havenow realised that many people may not be able to pay annually so we have restructured, it to accommodate the low income people. So, as day go by, we shall be letting people know about these products and what benefits therein.

Our company has 52 years of claims record. We have been paying claims and this contributes to the size of our market share today because many believe in what we are doing. On the average, many insurance companies pay their claims and one other good thing about it is that the regulatory authority, the National Insurance Commission is taking the issue of claims very seriously and this has restored the confidence of the insuring public on the industry.