Baobab Re now Emeritus Re as ZHL consolidates reinsurance operations
Insurance24
HARARE, Zimre Holdings Limited (ZHL) has completed the rebranding exercise of its reinsurance units as part of the wider strategy to consolidate the assets under Emeritus International of Botswana with intent to list in that market.
Emeritus Reinsurance managing director Leo Huvaya told Insurance24 at the rebranding of Baobab Re to Emeritus Re ceremony that the rebranding would ensure the group has a strengthened capital position to match top regional insurers and enjoy benefits from economies of scale and synergies.
“Consequently, this will result in our listing on the Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) as we seek to innovatively grow market share and profitability,” he said.
He said the listing will enable the Group to mobilize capital for enhanced business capacity and business expansion.
“We used to control over 80% of market share locally and the region so we are going to pursue and overtake and gain lost market share lost due to sanctions we were slapped with in 2008,” he said.
ZHL was in 2008 placed under US sanctions due to perceived links with the government, which has a 43% shareholding in the group. As a result, rebranded its operations as a way of hiding, but according to Huvaya, that later impacted business resulting in lost market share.
Emeritus Re, formerly Baobab was market leader in term of Gross Premium Written (GWP) for the third quarter ended September 2017 having written $2.95 mln which was however lower than $3.19 mln same period in 2016.
The Reassurers wrote business amounting to $5 million in net premiums compared to $4.7 million in the same period in 2016.
For the quarter under review, the total of reassurance business written translated to a positive growth of 9% attributable to Grand Re and Zep Re coming on board.