GraceKennedy Limited and Musson Jamaica, two of Jamaica’s largest conglomerates in control of multiple companies, will initially look to their own networks for business to feed the new life insurance company on which they have teamed up.
Insurance is not a new business line for either group, but they mainly own operations in the general insurance sector — GK General Insurance and General Accident Insurance Company, respectively. They will now tackle the larger life insurance and group health market through Canopy, a joint venture in which they each hold a 50 per cent stake.
Canopy is expected to begin operations in the second half of this year under the leadership of Sean Scott, who was previously responsible for strategy and development at beverage maker Wisynco Group.
In an interview with the Financial Gleaner, Scott said that alongside GK and Musson’s track record in general insurance, GraceKennedy was an early partner in health insurance business Medecus in the early 2000s but later sold out to Guardian Life; and that Canopy’s board, which is to be chaired by GK Group CEO Don Wehby, will also include insurance professionals such as Grace Burnett of GK General and Sharon Donaldson of General Accident.
Canopy is entering a market in which Sagicor Group Jamaica is dominant, and most of the rest is controlled by Guardian Life Limited. The other life insurance company is owned by banking conglomerate NCB Financial Group.
Life insurance companies represent 80 per cent of the entire insurance sector. Industry figures published by regulator, the Financial Services Commission, up to March 2018, valued the life sector at $316.2 billion by total assets. Quarterly revenue for the same period topped $21 billion.
Sagicor Group, which is a listed company and the largest player in the market, reported $9.3 billion of net premium income in the same quarter, and net premium income of $40 billion for all of 2018.
Scott said the GK-Musson partnership evolved after both entities analysed the value and service they were receiving as clients of the existing life insurance operators against the size of the premiums they pay annually to provide health and life insurance to their own employees.
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