The Managing Director of Law Union & Rock Insurance Plc, Mr. Olumide Falohun, has disclosed that the company was strengthening its alliance with foreign partners in order to enhance its underwriting capacity in the oil and gas sector and other big-ticket risks.

A statement on Friday said Law Union was currently working with a consortium of international partners for technical relationship that would enable it underwrite big-ticket risks in Nigeria and other parts of West Africa. The foreign partners include the United Kingdom-based Royal Sun and a number of foreign insurance brokers.

According to the managing director, the consortium being put together would significantly enhance LUR’s retention capacity in oil and gas as well as general engineering business. He said the partnership would enable the company gain more visibility and place it at an advantage to corner a good share of the market given the reality that it was already one of the nation’s biggest insurers in the oil and gas sector and overall engineering business.

He said, “We are a strong competitor in the oil and gas sector, and since it is a growing sector, we at LUR are positioning ourselves to move up and have our fair share of the businesses in the sector.” He LUR called for regulatory reforms in the interest of Nigerian oil and gas insurance, and suggested that local participation in the sector would grow relative to the overall size of the market if regulations in the oil and gas sector allowed local payers to insure risks on the combined strength of individual retention capacity developed with re-insurers abroad.

Falohun said LUR was a leader in engineering insurance in Nigeria, adding that over the years the company had developed a unique capability in engineering insurance. He said LUR was currently leading or co-insuring some of the most important assets in the market, including the $1bn Obajana Cement Factory in Kogi State, which is one of the biggest engineering projects in recent times in Nigeria .

“The Obajana project demonstrates Law Union’s capacity and expertise to handle big-ticket engineering risks. It also indicates the company is surely drawing upon the capacity it is building through linkages with world players like the Royal Sun Alliance.

“These alliances have helped Law Union to hone its skills in engineering insurance, the impact of which has already shown in the kinds of businesses Law Union has structured with co-insurers in the local market,” he said.

He said with the company’s shareholders’ fund in excess of N4.9bn, Law Union was now stronger and better positioned to play in the big league in the insurance market. He noted that its strong capital base had given the company the confidence to set its sights firmly on a bigger market share, competitive edge in information communication technology, a winning capability in quality service and a visible presence in the global marketplace.

Falohun also said the company had concluded plans to increase its network of branches to 30 outlets within 24 months, adding that Law Unions bank assurance business strategy with Skye Bank had boosted the insurers market presence for a huge competitive advantage. “Through the arrangement, Law Union has set up business desks in Skye Bank’s strategic offices and facilities across the country.

The competitive advantage this arrangement has delivered to the Law Union brand is easily grasped by the fact that the bank has more than 200 branches nationwide,” he added.