Premiums pass $10 billion mark

General Accident Managing Director Sharon Donaldson

General Accident Insurance Limited is reporting gross written premiums of $10.6 billion and net profits of $421.7 million for the period January to December 2019. These figures are the largest earnings and profits in the company’s history.

Its financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2019 show net profits of $421.7 million, which is over 47 per cent higher than the corresponding year.

Concurrently, General Accident ended the year with a book value of $2.41 billion and annualised return on average equity for shareholders at 19 per cent.

The company also improved on the customer service through offering competitive rates through its easy-to-use online platforms, early opening and convenient business hours.

The site, www.genac.com, was completely redesigned as part of the push to improve efficiency and accuracy. The website’s systems are linked to an insurance database for other relevant sources and the Tax Administration of Jamaica, resulting in improved benefits for customers.

“Ease and efficiency were of critical importance once we decided to overhaul the website. We realise that in this modern age time is of critical importance, hence our product had to cater to the pace and lifestyle of our valued clients. It was also of utmost importance that we could provide valuable, accurate information, in record time to suit our clients’ needs,” noted Sharon Donaldson, managing director of General Accident Jamaica Limited.

Two of the most client-requested features the ability to renew policies and pay premiums on the platform were incorporated into the website. General Accident’s upgraded website boasts the ability to provide quick quotes — in less than five minutes on queries; incident reporting to fast-track the claims process; and mobile responsiveness to make it easy to access on smartphones.

Improvements all around

Investments in General Accident’s agent network, broker relationships and technology also helped fuel earnings.

General Accident saw significant improvement in its technical results, with underwriting profit for the year-end December 2019 at $363.9 million, more than double the earnings of the previous year. “We maintained our long-standing culture of prudent underwriting last year,” Donaldson added.

General Accident, in September 2019 acquired 55 per cent of Trinidad and Tobago motor insurer, Motor One Insurance Company Limited (Motor One). Motor One has over 20,000 direct motor insurance policies and large branch network in the twin-island republic. The Caribbean conglomerate is pleased to have a presence in the Trinidad market looking forward to continued growth in this area.

“We look forward to working with our partners and executive team to grow Motor One and instil General Accident’s underwriting philosophy, culture and best practices to the market,” Donaldson explained.

The insurance giant will in the meantime, work on its strategic objective — to selectively expand General Accident’s business to other markets in the English-speaking Caribbean. “In 2020, we expect to continue to grow and improve the quality of General Accident’s earnings for the benefit of all our stakeholders,” commented Donaldson.