Selebi-Phikwe — Botswana Life Insurance Ltd. (BLIL), a subsidiary of Botswana Insurance Holdings, is expecting to record further business growth and register increased profits in 2008.

A good performance in 2007 has given the leading insurance provider fresh impetus of increased new business opportunities, particularly against the background of a mining boom in northern Botswana and the recent 15 percent salary hike for civil servants.

BLIL Chief Executive Officer, Regina Sikalesele-Vaka, says 2008 promises abundant opportunities for her company.

Sikalesele-Vaka was speaking during an Agents Forum held in Selebi-Phikwe on Tuesday under the theme "Get a Plan to Secure Your Life".

Sikalesele-Vaka said the purpose of the forum was to brief BLIL agents on the company's operations and for management to get first-hand information regarding what is "happening on the ground".

Sikalesele-Vaka said the fact that the company had moved from fifth position on the BSE to its present fourth was a sign of good performance. She said BLIL's solid performance meant that the company could pay liabilities six times over if it was to cease operations immediately.

The company's annual growth exceeded 20 percent over the last two years, which Sikalesele-Vaka described as phenomenal.

With over 100,000 insurance policy holders, BLIL now controls 80 percent of the market.

"This shows that we control the market, with an extensive market network," she said.

"Some of the policy holders have more than one policy, which translates to a quarter million policies sold."

Sikalesele-Vaka said BLIL's track record had proven that as a market leader, it had a solid reputation. Agents were key strategic partners who played a pivotal role in the company's growth.

She added that the company should not lose sight of the fact that its intended beneficiaries were the general public and that the primary aim was to create wealth for clients.

In 2007, BLIL had posted excellent results and exceeded its targets. The aim for 2008 was to surpass those targets. "We believe that this is achievable," the BLIL CEO said, "taking into (account) that civil servants were awarded a 15 percent salary hike. This is good news because the 15 percent will flow into the economy."

The mining boom in the north, coupled with the manufacturing sector's positive performance, was also expected to boost the company's volume of business.

The manufacturing sector's performance was good for the country as the economy had been heavily reliant on mining. Government's implementation of development programmes, which had been a gray area in the past, was also expected to improve.

"It is our hope that the implementation of government programmes will improve because if this is not done, some of the money that was supposed to flow into the economy will be held back," she said.

But the slowdown in investment markets, particularly the anticipated economic recession in the United States, could impact negatively on BLIL's business, she warned.

Interventions such as the high global oil prices, rising inflation and power outages were likely to slow down the company's growth. "As management, we cannot ignore these factors," Sikalesele-Vaka said. "We will up the stakes by increasing business volumes and focusing on profitable products."

Sikalesele-Vaka said all BLIL agents will be required to have a Certificate of Proficiency (CoP) qualification to sell the company's products.

She announced that BLIL had won a competition organised by SANLAM, their parent group company based in South Africa.

The competition involved SANLAM's operations in Kenya, India and South Africa. BLIL managed to win the Leopard and the Lion categories, the latter being the most prestigious.

Under the Leopard category, companies were expected to exceed their targets for six consecutive months by 20 percent, while for the Lion category, companies were expected to exceed their budget for 12 months. BLIL managed to achieve both feats and has set its sights on bettering the performance in 2008.