By KELVIN EGERUE
(08111813020)
There are certain things that cannot be easily taken away from people. Two of such things are their names and professional competencies which are derived from long years of dedication to duty and the enthronement of self adopted philosophy to life and living.
Mr Daniel Braie, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Linkage Assurance Plc is one of such people who have always been driven by the passion to excel in every assignment and responsibilities. For him, the drama of life consists of elements of both destiny and freedom of choice. Daniel believes that real discipline is an expression of respect for life and for self.
Daniel Braie was part of the then crop of young managers headhunted to help drive growth at UNIC Insurance Plc; that was the time when there were barely two insurance companies in Nigeria, UNIC Insurance and the others. Daniel and his team of middle level managers made the best out of that challenge hence more than 90 per cent of those charismatic and visionary insurance professionals turned out to become chief executive officers of many of the today’s successful financial institutions. And that is how customers and investors in Linkage Assurance Plc are today leveraging on the professional and technical competences of Daniel Braie in deepening the growth of the company. The shares of Linkage Assurance at the stock market have continued to attract interest and patronage of discerning investors.
“Daniel Braie is no doubt a seasoned Insurance professional who have a Distinction from the prestigious West African Insurance Institute (WAII). Daniel is an Associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute of London and Nigeria. He holds an MBA and is an alumnus of Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT) Business School. It is therefore a thing of joy that the nation’s insurance industry still have the likes of Daniel Braie to partner with it especially as the industry is retooling its operational structures and strategies on the back of the many reforms to be executed courtesy of the newly signed Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) which is set to usher in enhanced capitalization platform for market growth and development to the benefit of the insuring public”
Daniel Braie’s many successes as an insurance professional are not out of a sudden flight but as the result of his toiling in day time and at night when lesser mortals were busy indulging in frivolities.
From where Daniel who is an insurance practitioner of over three decades picked up Linkage Assurance, he has taken the underwriting company to such a glorious height that Linkage Assurance can be said to now be on auto-pilot in terms of its efficiency in service delivery and cost benefit analysis. The company has generated high level patronage from both individual and corporate clients. Its products are devoid of complications and encumbrances. The company’s speed in terms of claims processing and payment are beauty to behold thanks to its deployment of functional technology which includes Artificial Intelligence (AI). And the trading results in terms of revenue income speaks to the many successes which the Daniel Braie led management have accomplished.
In the company’s financial results presented to shareholders at its 31st Annual General Meeting held in Lagos recently, Linkage Assurance Plc reported a 50 percent increase in revenue to N22.2 billion in 2024, compared to N14.84 billion in 2023. Profit Before Tax stood at N5.3 billion in 2024 from N5.5 billion in 2023, a slight decrease of 3% YOY.
Joshua Fumudoh, Chairman of the Board of Directors, speaking at the meeting said that despite headwinds, Linkage Assurance Plc delivered an impressive financial and strategic performance in 2024.
He added that the company also recorded N9.48 billion investment income and other revenues during the year under review, compared to N9.06 billion in the previous year. Total assets rose to N65.68 billion from N51.33 billion in 2023. Fumudoh stated that “Such outcomes are not merely numerical milestones; they reflect sound executive management, consistent underwriting discipline, prudent investment practices, and a board-driven culture of corporate governance.” Daniel Braie is indeed the team lead in all of these of accomplishments. And he assures that much more gains are to come.
The current Managing Director of Linkage Assurance started his insurance career with UNIC insurance working in the Marine and Aviation department where he rose to the position of Marine Underwriter/Adjuster of Marine Claims. He remained with UNIC holding several managerial positions up till 2001 when he left the company to join Trust & Guarantee Insurance Company Limited as its pioneer General Manager and later doubled as Company Secretary.
Following the successful merger of Trust and Guarantee Insurance Company Limited and Crusader Nigeria Plc in 2007, he joined the Crusader Group as a Deputy General Manager/ Group Head Enterprise Marketing and also held various managerial positions. He was also the Vice Chairman/ Chief Executive Officer of Topflight Insurance Brokers Ltd before transiting to Linkage Assurance Plc.
Daniel Braie is no doubt a seasoned Insurance professional who have a Distinction from the prestigious West African Insurance Institute (WAII). Daniel is an Associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute of London and Nigeria. He holds an MBA and is an alumnus of Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT) Business School. It is therefore a thing of joy that the nation’s insurance industry still have the likes of Daniel Braie to partner with it especially as the industry is retooling its operational structures and strategies on the back of the many reforms to be executed courtesy of the newly signed Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) which is set to usher in enhanced capitalization platform for market growth and development to the benefit of the insuring public.
