Consolidated Hallmark Insurance bags double honours; emerges Insurance Company of the Year as Eddie Efekoha wins Insurance Chief Executive Officer of the Year @ 2023 Champion Newspaper annual awards

BY KELVIN EGERUE

It is a double win for  the managers of hybrid insurance company; Consolidated Hallmark Insurance Plc as the savvy administrators of human and material resources have powered the  company into setting an all time high record which will be difficult to beat in the nation’s financial sector as Consolidated Hallmark Insurance wins insurance company of the year award of Champion Newspapers Limited at the time that the founding Group Managing Director of the Company, the ebullient Mr Eddie Efekoha pulled through an avalanche of nominees to grab the 2023 Champion Newspapers Insurance Company Chief Executive Officer of the year.

The double win for Consolidated Hallmark Insurance Plc in the high grade Champion Newspaper’s annual award and recognition mark the first time that any financial institution in the country will achieve the fit of been named Company of the Year with its Chief Executive Officer stepping forward as the most outstanding company executive in the category of successful chief executive officers.

Eddie Efekoha, a well grounded insurance professional who has traversed all segments of insurance practice with greater emphasized on insurance broking and underwriting has succeeded in making bold statement with Consolidated Hallmark Insurance Plc by proving that insurance is indeed a dependable risk management and mitigating instruments considering that Consolidated Hallmark Insurance Plc is now a reference point in the area of integrity and professional competences.

The double awards for Consolidated Hallmark Insurance and its founding Group Managing Director Mr Eddie Efekoha stand as a well befitting sending off gift in honour of Eddie as he retires from the company in the first quarter of 2024. The company has already named anew a Managing Director while Eddie embarks on his pre-retirement leave. The 2023 edition of the annual Champion Newspaper award series is scheduled to hold on May 25 at the Eko Hotel and Suits in Victoria Island. Not less than 25  corporate institutions and hybrid managers will honoured at the event.

Group Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief of Champion Newspapers Dr (Mrs) Nwadiuto Iheakanwa had in conveying the emergence of Eddie Efekoha as 2023 Most Outstanding Insurance Chief Executive Officer of the Year and Consolidated Hallmark Insurance as the 2023  Insurance Company of the Year observed the professional integrity of the insurance company and technical competence of its managers which have culminated in the Consolidated Hallmark Insurance taking commanding position in the ranking of insurance companies in Nigeria.

“On all scores, our findings, largely corroborated by that of our independent assessors, confirm that your good self, Mr Eddie Efekoha and your company; Consolidated Hallmark Insurance Plc have over the years contributed immensely in the building of a better and more prosperous Nigerian insurance industry where individuals and businesses are now comfortable to conduct their insurance schedules with greater confidence. Your invaluable contributions as a frontline insurance professional have helped in bringing sanity in such critical areas of confidence building in insurance business. Your recent emergence as President of the West African Insurance Companies Association (WAICA) is testament to your wider acceptance as benchmark of integrity, competence and a catalyst of business development” Dr. Nwadiuto had noted.

“We note with delight the uncommon zeal and commitment of Consolidated Hallmark Insurance Plc in helping to remodel Nigeria’s insurance landscape through strict adherence to industry’s code of conducts and ethics culminating in an efficient and effective discharge of contractual obligations top of which is equity in claims administration and payment. It is a fact that business diversification and product customization are known attributes of Consolidated Hallmark Insurance Group. The high capacity of the company to satisfy all shades of stakeholders are the epitome of successful companies to which Consolidated Hallmark Insurance qualifies as one”, she added.

The Editor-in-Chief of Champion Newspapers become more personal in her letter to Consolidated Hallmark Insurance in addressing Mr Eddie Efekoha when she revealed that “It’s also a truism that you have consistently excelled in acting as a dependable bridge between the old and new breed insurance professionals having previously served as Chairman of the umbrella body of registered insurance companies in Nigeria, the Nigerian Insurers Associations with a demonstration of higher capacity for leadership responsibilities and set the pace in the national arena through stellar performance in quality representation”.

In accepting the honour of the two awards by Champion Newspapers, Mr Efekoha expressed gratitude that the efforts of the board, management and staff of  Consolidated Hallmark Insurance in fostering a financial institution capable of commanding the patronage of Nigerians and the business community. Consolidated Hallmark Insurance he observed  have continued to attract the attention on account of its services and products.

According to him, “these awards are both coming at a time that we have continued to streamline all efforts, as a corporate organization to ensure we deliver our services to the consumers the very best way possible, in line with regulatory stipulations and in a timely manner, taking advantage of modern technology. Also, as an individual steering the ship at various levels, my guiding principle has always been how to maximize returns to all stakeholders in whatever capacity l have been bestowed with leadership, whether at the corporate level, industry at national or sub-national level where l currently have the privilege to serve”, Eddie as he is fondly called by colleagues and associates had confessed.

“I would therefore say that this recognition, alongside similar ones in the recent past, show that my modest efforts and that of the members of my team have not gone unnoticed. We feel humbled and encouraged therefore to continue to provide value in leadership for the overall benefit of the society at large”, he had pledged in a letter personally signed by him in conveying acceptance of the double awards.

The company have had to retool its work processes in a consolidation programme of 2007 which saw the company acquiring Hallmark Insurance hence the emergence of Consolidated Hallmark Insurance Plc which today boosts of high level capital base, customer tailored products and services covering all classes of insurance which includes Motor insurance, Accident, Fire, Marine, Building under constructions, Aviation, Oil and Gas among other special risks. Consolidated Hallmark Insurance Plc has expanded its operations as to now function as a holding company which incubates large number of related financial services including Health Insurance. Consolidated Hallmark Insurance Plc is the second insurance company in Nigeria to obtain the prestigious ISO9001:2015quality management systems certification.

“Our work processes have been structured in such a manner that enables Consolidated Hallmark Insurance respond to claims payment obligation very timely without compromising all the safety valves put in place by the terms of our policy and regulatory requirements. Our response to claims payment is part of what is now speaking for us as many more customers are reaching out to Consolidated Hallmark Insurance to obtain insurance cover from us”, the Group Managing Director Mr Eddie Efekoha had observed.

This is not surprising considering that Eddie Efekoha had previously held executive positions in some of the leading insurance broking firms in Nigeria including Hogg Robinson Nigeria, Glanvill Enthoven and Co and Fountain Trust Insurance Brokers where he served as the pioneer Chief Executive Officer prior to his establishing Consolidated Risk Insurers, a company where he also doubles as the Vice Chairman.

A bridge builder in the Nigeria’s insurance industry and a reservoir of knowledge, Eddie has links with the local and international insurance markets culminating in his election as a board member of African Insurance Organisation (AIO), the umbrella body for all registered insurance companies and broking firms in Africa. Mr Efekoha served as president of Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN) as well as the 22^nd president of the Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA). His Bachelor’s Degree in Insurance and Masters Degree in Business Administration both from University of Lagos did well to prepare him for the challenges of presiding over institutions as large as Consolidated Hallmark Insurance Group, a group of companies which all its stakeholders which include investors and customers are immensely proud to associate with.