SEYI IFATUROTI:
Insurance Amazon
The average insurance
company that is successful is not necessarily run by geniuses, but
rather by individuals with ordinary qualities, who have developed
those ordinary qualities to a more than ordinary degree.
This is exactly what the venture known as Equity Life
Insurance Company has been able to do.
The company came into
existence as a result of the transfer and complete restructuring
exercise carried out on First Nigeria Insurance Company which was
established in 1983. Consequently,
its shares were transferred to Equity Indemnity Insurance Company
and other Nigerian shareholders, who then changed its name to
Equity Life Insurance Company in April, 1997.
With head office
relocated to Lagos Island and branch networking covering
Port-Harcourt, Kaduna, Kano, Ibadan, Warri, Yaba, Ilorin and
Abuja, the Company has been able to increase its authorised share
capital to N25 million. Also
she was one of the first set of Insurance Companies to satisfy the
industrial solvency margin and other requirements proscribed by
the Insurance Decree of 1997.
Its board of directors is made of distinguished Nigerians
in various sectors of the economy.
At present, Equity Life
Insurance Company operates as the life arm, of Equity Indemnity
Insurance Company and has within
a very short span of existence, retained the care and value and
qualities associated with the sister company with special focus on
product innovation and excellent customer service.
The Company has been able to win over power brokers in the
banking and manufacturing sectors with corporate clients such as
the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company, Habib Nigeria
Bank, African Intercontinental Bank, Access Bank Plc to mention
but a few and has been
able to large extent satisfy its Shareholders beyond the ordinary.
Perhaps one may ask how
this prodigy like Life Insurance Company has been able to grow in
geometric proportions in such a short time.
The magic is that the
Company has a crack team of young professionals, the least having
eight years experience in Life and pension and other related
relevant fields, the Company through its management policy has
harnessed all with young experts to great heights, motivating and
driving them through sheer hard work and determination.
In the words of the Managing Director/CEO (Seyi
Ifaturoti), a tested amazon, with more than 18 years in life
and pension, she said that the Company is not looking for geniuses
but individuals able to go the extra mile, develop ordinary
qualities to more than an ordinary degree and be able to meet
challenges headlong; those are the stuff geniuses are made of, and
fortunately, the company of Equity has them.
Perhaps the most crucial
policy of Equity Life operations is that of adequate and up to
date Information Technology facilities to run its technology
driven enterprises. With
a battery of state of the art facilities, and the latest software
and hardware systems at its disposal, the Information Technology
Department has been able to provide adequate backup to the
technical and other services support departments including its
nine branches nationwide with unparalleled and efficient service.
As a result, the claims settlement of the Company till date
has not breached the five working days target.
According to the MD/CEO,
the Company has no business being in business if they cannot only
settle claims but settle them promptly and with the kind of
technology the Company has invested in, there is no way the
Company will fail in their service delivery target.
Though Equity Life, like
all profit-making ventures, hopes to underwrite more business,
expand portfolio and make more profit. What the company holds dear
to itself is simply that priceless element called integrity.
The Company wants to be seen not only as one that is
efficient and friendly, but that which keeps promises. After all
it is said that he that comes to equity comes with clean hands.
Newswatch Special Feature, Friday, 15 November 2002
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