Shareholders in Jubilee Insurance are set to walk away with Ksh 870 million following the completion of the transfer of general business to Allianz.
The pay which is lower than Ksh 942 million the firm paid in 2021 comes after the shareholders endorsed the payment of a dividend of Ksh 9 per share plus a special dividend of Ksh 3 per share during the 2022 Annual General Meeting (AGM) held Friday as recommended by the board. This now brings total dividend pay for the year to Ksh 12 per share.
The dividend pay comes despite Jubilee Insurance recording a marginal drop in profit after tax which reduced to Ksh Ksh 6.6 billion for the full year period ended December 31, 2022 from Ksh 6.8 billion recorded a year earlier.
“East Africa’s economy experienced a slowed growth in 2022 because of inflation coupled with high interest rates and increasing debt. While the road to recovery was difficult, our company navigated uncertain market conditions while adapting to a rapidly changing landscape. We are delighted that the Group’s balance sheet remains solid and resilient,” said Nizar Juma, JHL Chairman.
JHL also recorded a 4pc decline in profit from the core business despite the completion of the transfer of general business to Allianz.
Juma said during the year under review, Jubilee Insurance completed the partnership in the remaining countries with Allianz in the general insurance businesses in Burundi, Mauritius and Tanzania recording a gain of Ksh 2.2 billion, which gave a combined profit before tax of Ksh 7.5 billion for 2022 from Ksh 8.4 billion in 2021.
JHL also saw a 15pc decline in gross written premium to Ksh 26 billion from Ksh 30.6 billion which was impacted by the transfer of the general insurance business to the Allianz Group.
The firm said non-general business has grown by Ksh 7.2 billion since 2020, when the sale of general business to Allianz commenced.
Jubilee Insurance total assets increased by 9.8pc to Ksh 170.5 billion from Ksh 155.3 billion, which is the largest in the industry.
Juma told shareholders that the insurer is now targeting to begin implementing the second phase of its digital transformation agenda to focus on customer experience, telematics, and data analytics.
“This stage will support the development of more innovative and affordable insurance products improving accessibility and financial inclusion across the region,” said JHL.
Phase one of the project saw the firm deploy robotics, cloud, Artificial Intelligence and data capabilities and successfully migrate its core applications and infrastructure to the cloud enabling the business to pursue efficiency, agility, security, and end-to-end digital transformation.
So far, over 50 robots have been deployed across the region to improve business efficiency, security and to deter fraud.
The Group has also introduced Artificial Intelligence to improve the claims process, further enhancing the customer’s experience.
