Mixed fortunes for insurance sector as LASACO, AIICO, AXA, others post negative growth

The unaudited financial reports of insurance companies’ operating in the country that have so far released their half year ended June 30, 2025 results have indicated a mixed bag of results.

Based on Business Hallmark’s analysis of the results of the 12 leading insurance companies quoted on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), all the firms posted an improved revenue in the the period under review compared to the corresponding period of H1’2024.

For instance, while AXA Mansard Insurance Plc reported a much improved revenue of N66 billion in H1 2024, as its revenue grew to N81 billion in H1 2025.

In the same vein, AIICO Insurance Plc posted a revenue of N49 billion in H1’2024, while its income rose to N65 billion in half year 2025.

Others are Consolidated Hallmark Holdings Plc with N13 billion and N23 billion revenue in H1 2024 and H1 2025 respectively; Cornerstone Insurance Plc N16.9 billion and N24.4 billion respectively; Coronation Insurance Plc N21.4 billion and N33 billion respectively; LASACO Assurance Plc N11.5 billion and N17 billion respectively, and Linkage Assurance Plc with N11 and N12.5 revenue in H1 2024 and H1 2025 respectively.

The rest are Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc with N28.5 billion and N41.2 billion declared revenue in H1 2024 and H1 2025 respectively; NEM Insurance Plc N45.5 and N75.4 billion respectively; Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc N29 billion and N34.1 billion respectively; Sunu Assurances Nigeria Plc with N7.5 and N10 billion revenues in H1 2024 and H1 2025 respectively, as well as Veritas Kapital Assurance Plc which reported income of N10 billion and N13 billion in H1 2024 and H1 2025 respectively.

Motion Without Movement

Meanwhile, despite a marked improvement in the H1 2025 revenue performance of the companies compared with the same period of H1’2024, only three of them, Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc, Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc, and NEM Insurance Plc posted improved Profit Before Tax (PBT).

Specifically, Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc announced a profit of N12.29 billion profit in H1 2025, compared to the N3.2 billion it declared in H1 2024, representing about 287.8 per cent increase.

In the same vein, NEM Insurance announced PBT of N15.48 billion for the first 6 months of 2025, up by 45.63% from the N10.63 billion reported in H1 2024.

The third insurance company that grew its profit before tax is  Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc, which announced PBT of N1.358 billion year on year, compared to the N942 million it declared in 2024.

However, the remaining nine firms, AIICO Insurance Plc, LASACO Assurance Plc, AXA Mansard  Insurance Plc, Consolidated Hallmark Holdings, Cornerstone Insurance Plc, Coronation Insurance Plc, Linkage Assurance Plc, Sunu Assurance Nigeria Plc and Veritas Kapital Assurance Plc didn’t fare too well in the period under review as they all reported a sharp drop in their PBT.

For instance, while the worst performing firm, LASACO Assurance Plc, posted a massive loss of N518.12 million in H1 2025, compared to N3.47 billion profit before tax in H1 2024, AIICO Insurance Plc also reported a PBT of N11.269 billion for the six months period, down by 13.01% from the N12.955 billion PBT it reported in H1 2024.

Other Insurance firms on the list of worst performers are Cornerstone Insurance, which declared profit before tax of N6.7 billion in H1 2025, compared to the sum of N27.87 billion, representing a drop of 76 per cent in profit in H1 2024 and Consolidated Hallmark Holdings, which reported N1.7 6 billion profit before tax in H1 2025, against the N10.7 8 billion in H1 2024.

Also affected by the harsh economic climate is Coronation Insurance Plc, which posted N1.53billion profit before tax in H1 2025, compared to the sum of N7.66billion it declared in H1 2024.

Despite announcing N28.57billion profits in H1 2024, AXA Mansard Insurance Plc’s profits before tax in H1 2022 slipped to N7.73billion, representing about 72 per cent drop in profit.

Speaking on the strong financial performance of his company despite the challenges in the economic landscape of the country, the Chairman of Mutual Benefit Assurance Plc, Dr. Akin Ogunbiyi, traced it to its remarkable resilience and agility.

Ogunbiyi said the performance underscores the company’s commitment to delivering value for its shareholders.

Challenges and Opportunities

According to him, this growth reflects the expanding market share of the company and effective client expanding market share, which underscores the trust the clients place in the company to deliver reliable, tailored insurance solution.

The Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc chairman explained that the Nigerian economy presented both opportunities and challenges during the period, but that despite this, the company leveraged its expertise and adopted adaptive strategies to manage the impact of macroeconomic shifts on its business.

Also speaking on the muted performances of many insurance companies in H1 2025, analysts at Afrivest Research argued that the outlook for 2025 appeared to be  more cautious.

“Global premium growth is forecast to slow to two percent, reflecting heightened macroeconomic uncertainties, policy instability in advanced markets, and a broader global economic slowdown.

“In Nigeria, the insurance industry continued to perform strongly after hitting the N1.0 trillion mark in GPW in 2023, with Gross Premium Written (GPW) rising by 55.8per cent y/y to N1.6 trillion.

“The non-life segment dominated (N808.4 billion, 68.9 per cent of GPW), driven by strong uptake in oil & gas, fire, and motor classes. The surge in premium was primarily underpinned by regulatory enforcement of compulsory insurance, inflation-driven repricing, and naira depreciation following FX liberalization (which revalued foreign currency premiums).

“Despite sector-wide structural challenges, underwriting performance improved significantly. Industry-wide insurance revenue (proxied by AIICO, CONHALLP, CORNERST, MANSARD, NEM, and WAPIC) rose 66.3per cent y/y to N455.5 billion, while total Insurance Service Result soared by 152.6per cent y/y to N36.3 billion.

“Underwriting margins improved by 2.7ppts to eight per cent, and sector Return on Average Assets (ROAA) and Return on Average Equity (ROAE) averaged 24.6per cent and 53.7per cent, respectively, highlighting operational efficiency and stronger balance sheet deployment.

“Meanwhile, the long-overdue recapitalization directive regained momentum. Following the passage of the Nigeria Insurance Industry Reform Bill 2024 by the National Assembly, and NAICOM’s release of its risk-based capital exposure draft, the stage is now set for an industry shake-up. Under the proposed minimum capital thresholds, a wave of mergers, equity injections, and asset revaluations is expected to follow”, Afrinvest noted.