Consolidated Hallmark Insurance (CHI) Plc has invested over N30 million in the educational sector through its Annual Essay Competition.
From inception of the competition, precisely in 2011 till now, the I surer has given out cash prizes , among others to winners of its essay competition, who were mainly from the nation’s tertiary Institutions offering Insurance Course, thereby, raising insurance education and awareness across the country.
Speaking at the Pre-Award ceremony press briefing at the company’s head office in Obanikoro, Lagos yesterday, its managing director/CEO, Mary Adeyanju, said, its Annual Essay Competition for students offering insurance and actuarial science in higher institutions of learning has come a long way, disclosing that, the competition started within the company to encourage research by staff and it recorded tremendous success through keen participation.
According to her, “Management immediately saw the need to extend the competition to a national level by including participants from all higher institutions of learning where insurance and actuarial is offered. Pivotal to this decision was the need to encourage research, thus deepening knowledge and most-importantly, grooming talents for the entire insurance industry.”
Besides fostering deeper knowledge of insurance and encouraging innovative thinking among participants, she said. The topics are diligently arrived at, in a bid to ensure the research work addresses pertinent issues in technology, the economy and other areas of impact.
Disclosing that the 2023 external category of the competition centred around the theme ‘continuous devaluation of naira and the resultant rate of inflation -effect on insurance business in Nigeria,’ she noted that the topic for the internal category was: ‘challenges and solutions to the brain drain in the insurance sector in Nigeria.’
Stressing that the 2023 edition will take place on 4th of October, 2024 in Lagos, she stated that the winning prize has now been increased to N500,000, N300,000 and N200,000 for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Prize winners respectively.
“Participants should watch out for further improvement on this, in line with current economic realities as call for entries for the 2024 edition and beyond are made. We look forward to a situation where the winning price money would suffice for a fully funded academic year – inclusive of fees, accommodation, feeding (all costs inclusive for an average student),” she disclosed.
Saying past 1st Prize winners of the competition automatically got an offer of employment to join the services of the company, she said, they all took advantage of the offer and have contributed their quota to the growth of the organisation. They have proved themselves in the course of their work, thus attesting to the fact that their winning was not a fluke, she noted.