By Bisi Bamishe
“The journey of a thousand miles they say begin with a step”. No matter how rough that journey might be, the dogged and focused ones never lose sight of where they are headed; they keep forging ahead, reinventing the wheels over and over again.
This best describes the journey that one of Nigeria’s budding underwriting firms embarked upon some 30 years ago when it made its debut entry into the Nigerian Insurance landscape after metamorphosing from the then Grand Union Assurances Limited on January 2, 1995. Since then, it has been a journey of hope, foresight and forthrightness never minding the setbacks it encountered along the way.
Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc has clearly shown that a vision well-thought out will definitely stand the test of time. The company continues to forge ahead even at a period when a number of bookmakers prophesied doom for the Insurance Industry in the country.
30 years down the line, the Brand keeps waxing stronger by the day just as it has earned for itself a place of pride amongst the comity of insurance companies in the country. Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc continues to run with a futuristic vision of wanting “to be a leading brand, providing insurance and financial services of global standards”. In truth and indeed, the company has recorded a lot of pioneering initiatives yet to be rivaled by other competitors in the insurance industry in Nigeria over the years.
Undoubtedly, the company has established an indelible footprint in the insurance industry as one of the lead underwriters for most of the major oil and gas projects in the country with an ever growing profile year in, year out.
One very critical area the company has placed much emphasis on is in developing a versatile and well-qualified workforce; unarguably, one of the most prolific insurance companies in the country with a very dynamic and well-articulated workforce comprising of varied and highly skilled professionals who are constantly exposed to human capacity building. Brand experts see this development as a major plus for the organisation, knowing full well that the quality of any workforce will ultimately determine the performance level of that organisation. This became evidently clear in the financial results of the underwriting firm in the last couple of years as it has constantly surpassed its targets on a year-on-year basis and even more, the company declared dividends to its shareholders at the 29th edition of its Annual General Meeting.
In 2022, the company moved from A stable rating to A (NG) positive rating based on the organization’s new financial position and sound capitalization supported by good earnings generation and retention. “our continued success over the years saw the company’s performance ranked among top players in the insurance industry in the country.
The considerations for the rating amongst others were based on the company’s sizeable capital base, sound internal capital generation, healthy investment returns, foreign exchange gains and a strong liquidity profile backed by a conservative assets’ allocation strategy.
To date, the company has presence in Lagos with Area offices in Surulere, Ikeja and Lagos Central with the Head office on Victoria Island. Other cities include, Akure, Enugu, Ibadan, Kaduna, Port Harcourt and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
As a transiting world-class organization conscious of its brand equity, the company has a well-entrenched culture of upholding sound moral and professional ethics beyond profit. From inception, the company has significantly shown upward progression in every area of its operations making it one of the fastest growing and upwardly mobile insurance companies in the country.
As a brand, the organisation has in the last couple of years recorded remarkable successes in CSR initiatives and top-notch events in the country. It still remains the only Insurance brand that has endorsed an award category for insurance correspondents in Nigeria in perpetuity. The Diamond Award for Media Excellence, (DAME) for the best Insurance Reporter of the Year.
The first ever International Jazz Festival in Nigeria was sponsored by the company in 2008 tagged the Lagos International Jazz Festival fashioned after the Cape Town Jazz Festival held in South Africa on an annual basis. Till date, the company is the only Insurance Company that has ever undertaken an all-expense paid trip for soccer loving Nigerians to an international football competition when it sponsored some Nigerians to the 2008 African Cup of Nations in Accra, Ghana just as it was the official Insurer for the Nigerian Contingent to the All-African Games in Algiers, Algeria in 2007. The company just recently held the 8th edition of its eponymous golf tournament at the Ibadan Golf Club where Desmond Mathew of Ikoyi Club 1938 won the coveted trophy of the tournament. The company was also one of the sponsors at the just concluded one week golf tournament at the Ikeja golf club from March 17-22, 2025. Indeed, Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc has carved a niche for itself with the golfers’ community in Nigeria.
The company’s CSR platform is hinged on 3 major pillars of Health, Sports and the Environment, HSE. Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc has been one of the active promoters of the Go-Green agenda of the Lagos State Government since 2009 when it revamped the dilapidated Shitta Roundabout in Surulere and just last year, it acquired another park at Kodesoh Street in Ikeja, Lagos.
In the area of support for the Arts, the company remains part of the success story of the multi-Award winning film, October 1 produced by one of Nigeria’s ace Movie Maker, Kunle Afolayan. The company also supported the award-winning Stage Drama, ‘KAKADU THE MUSICAL which later won laurels both at the local and international level.
Regarding its support for the Health Sector, the company has over the years amongst other initiatives been partnering with a Non-Governmental Organization, Atinuke Cancer Foundation in creating awareness amongst Nigerians in combating the deadly cancer disease.
The company has to its name series of corporate awards and appreciation plaques for its contributions to various developmental projects and initiatives across the country.
For Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc, the journey has just begun and the insurance industry is set to witness a new and more innovative way of doing insurance business in Nigeria in another 30 years to come and beyond.
