70 ARC Ltd. achieved remarkable growth in 2023, marking a significant milestone since our founding a decade ago. We recorded all-time high premiums this year. This success demonstrates our team’s dedication, adaptability, and hard work. Malvern Chirume | CHIEF UNDERWRITING OFFICER, ARC LTD. Growth aligns with ARC Ltd.’s mission by expanding our impact and ensuring continued relevance in the market. We have effectively managed growth in pursuing our multifaceted role. We recognise numerous avenues to leverage our influence in closing the protection gap across the continent. Simply processing policies or limiting ourselves to an insurance company’s role is no longer enough. Understanding the importance of proactive engagement, we are convening and catalysing various disaster risk financing stakeholders. Given its ease of implementation and scalability, parametric insurance is a crucial mechanism for Africa and developing regions. While developed markets use standard indemnity products, parametric insurance can be quickly implemented across locations to cover many people rapidly. This speed of response is its unique advantage. We firmly believe parametric insurance is critical for us and our partners to close the protection gap substantially. Lessons from 2023 Over the past year, we have invested heavily in expanding our team and building our infrastructure to keep pace with our rapid growth. However, we have learned that our previous systems, which relied on a combination of manual processes and ad-hoc solutions, could not sustain the significant uptick in volumes we were experiencing. Simply adding more heads alone does not sufficiently prepare for growth of this magnitude. We recognised the vital need to implement standardised, scalable systems and automated processes across every function while ensuring our people have the training and support structures to take on new responsibilities. Managing rapid scaling is an enormously complex challenge with many interdependent elements, requiring intense coordination across all departments. We are gradually overcoming initial growing pains through broad collaboration, open communication, and a shared commitment to the necessary evolution of our operations. When claim volumes recently surged, it meant many late nights and weekends for my claims processing team. But despite being stretched thin by influxes in demand, they consistently rise to overcome challenges, embodying the heart and dedication that ultimately fuels our progress. Key breakthroughs As part of our operational expansion this past year, we have taken on an elevated company-wide role overseeing the entire insurance value chain, from initial customer enrollment to ongoing policy management and claims processing and facilitating reinsurance payments. This comprehensive oversight represents a vital, highly complex function I am proud to spearhead. Our elevated stature and proven capacity to handle expanded responsibilities also directly enabled a coveted rating upgrade from Fitch CH I EF UNDERWR I T I NG OFF I CER ’ S REPORT CHIEF UNDERWRITING OFFICER’S REPORT
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