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By Henry Uche
Lagos State Government has accredited Cornerstone Insurance Plc, among underwriters who are qualified to sell annuity packages for its ex-civil servants in the state.
The accreditation came through the Lagos State Pension Scheme (LASPEC) after rigorous assessment of the insurance firm, its service delivery and ability to honour obligations to its policy holders.
To this end, the underwriter will now be allowed to market its annuity plan to workers who are about to retire from the Lagos civil service so that they can buy its annuity product at the point of retirement. Retirees, at retirement, have two pension exit options; Annuity Plan and Programmed Withdrawal.
Briefing newsmen at the end of the 25th pre-retirement seminar for Lagos civil servants in Ikeja, recently, the Managing Director/CEO of Cornerstone Insurance, Mr. Stephen Alangbo, expressed gladness that the company was accredited by the state government, even as he promised the ex-civil servants of prompt and superior annuity services.
According to him, “We have been registered and accredited as one of the insurers to underwrite annuity for Lagos State civil servants. This is very significant because we are coming in for the first time today and we are the newest underwriters to be onboarded into Lagos state pension scheme to underwrite their annuity”
On what stands Cornerstone Insurance out among its peers in annuity business, he said: ”With this accreditation, it’s an opportunity for Lagos retirees to enjoy superior services that we will offer them. We are partnering them to make sure that, at retirement, they are able to subscribe to annuity plans with ease and pay them without hiccups.
“We also make sure we celebrate their birthday, anniversaries and so on. We have an asset base of over N70 billion and our profitability is one of the best between the first three most-profitable insurance companies in Nigeria today. Cornerstone revolutionised insurance business over 30 years ago, brought a new face to insurance and from then till now, we pay claims promptly” he affirmed.
He added that Cornerstone is partnering Ilera Eko, an health insurance package of Lagos State government, saying, this was to ensure that retirees get the best of healthcare services in Lagos while collecting their annuity.
“The package is to ensure that retirees have access to good and quality healthcare services and we partnered Ilera Eko so that all our annuitants enjoy this service. Those who are collecting annuity from us have the opportunity to purchase this health insurance scheme,” he pointed out.
On his part, the General Manager, Business Development, Charles Nwachukwu said, though Cornerstone Insurance is not a big player in annuity, but that, with the accreditation, the company will continue to grow organically and take advantage of this platform for a significant growth in annuity business.
“Safety and returns on investments is better in annuity than Programmed Withdrawals, especially, looking at inflation rate which is better taken care of in annuity than programmed withdrawal. We train retirees on how to plan for retirement and advise them accordingly. To manage their funds, we don’t just collect funds from retirees and leave them alone, but we have constant engagement with our annuitants,” he stressed.
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