Lion Assurance Company ISO 9001:2008 Certification Award

1. Give us a brief background of Lion Assurance Company?

Lion Assurance is a member of TA Holdings and belongs to a regional insurance group which has its presence in Botswana, Uganda and Zimbabwe.We were recapitalised in January 2006 to the tune of $7 million making it the second most capitalized short-term insurer in the Uganda. The underlying rationale of recapitalisation was to enhance the policy holder security through a strengthened balance sheet, while at the same time enhancing the underwriting capacity and the service delivery of the company.

2. Why should companies strive to attain the ISO 9001:2008 certification?

ISO 9001 is a Quality Management System that we have integrated into our business. It is focused on ensuring that our business delivers a consistent level of quality to our customers by having a well-defined and regularly reviewed processes and procedures.ISO 9001 has become part of our culture within Lion Assurance Company; therefore it spells out the way we do business. It is a statement to our stakeholders, customers, employees and management that our business operates on a set framework in order to achieve its company objectives that are; customer satisfaction and enhancing shareholders value. ISO 9001 was written with the world’s insatiable desire for excellence in mind and that is why continual improvement is a requirement of the standard-to inspire progress and the pursuit of perfection. So, by introducing quality management system like ISO 9001, the quality of our processes will increase and costs due to inefficiencies will decrease. This resonates well with our core values of security, care and integrity.

3. What does the ISO certification say about Lion Assurance Company?

ISO 9001 certification is a seal of approval from a third party body that our company runs one of the internationally recognised ISO management systems. This means as a business, we are committed to a very high level of quality service delivery in our offers to the market.Some companies, both private and public, use ISO certification as a filter in their tender screening of service providers. The certified status shows our company’s credibility and should instill confidence in the potential clients that we, as a business, will keep our promises. Lion Assurance is now the third Ugandan insurance company to get that kind of ISO certificate, among the many that are in operation today.

4. Which areas did Lion Assurance do well to deserve the certification?

The streamlining of operational procedures to international standards, whereby all departments started working as a team led Lion Assurance Company to attain excellence and conformity with the ISO Quality Management system and the eventual accreditation.

5. What are some of the products that Lion Assurance offers to the public?

We have a number of exciting products on our menu like Kungula Agrinsurance, Motor Insurance, Domestic Insurance, Personal Accident Insurance, Legal Guard Insurance, among others. 6. What should customers and brokers of Lion Assurance expect following this achievement?To Ugandans, an ISO 9001 certification means that Lion Assurance Company Limited is an organisation that is customer focused and follows internationally recognised quality management principles. Therefore, Ugandans insured by Lion Assurance Company Limited expect a high level of insurance services quality, continued improvement and practical approach to decision making. Ugandans, like it is a fact now, expect to receive good services for what they pay for and expect to get due to increased exposure to the world.Having rested their doubts about what Lion Assurance has to offer, following the ISO award, Ugandans are therefore guaranteed that they are dealing with management and staff that is committed, responsive, customer focused and quality conscious. They are also assured of processes that are convenient, controlled and transparent for their satisfaction, as ISO 9001 certification demonstrates the existence of an effective quality management that satisfies the rigours of an independent, external audit.

Lion Assurance Company joins the club of ISO Certified Companies

The Lion Assurance Company Limited has clinched the most coveted (International Organization for Standardization) ISO 9001:2008 certification. URS (United Registrar of Systems), which is a member of Registrar of Standards (Holdings) Ltd, awarded the certificate to Lion Assurance.

ISO 9001 is a Quality Management System that we have integrated into our business. It is focused on ensuring that their business delivers a consistent level of quality to their customers by having a well-defined and regularly reviewed processes and procedures.

“We are delighted for having been recognized for our excellent services,” said Newton Jazire, the Lion Assurance managing director, in Kampala during the dinner ceremony with an aim of celebrating their achievements. He said ISO 9001 certification is a seal of approval from a third party body that their company runs one of the internationally recognized ISO management systems.

“A business, we are committed to is a very high level of quality service delivery in our offers to the market,” Jazire added. ISO is a worldwide federation of international standards bodies. The benefits of attainment of ISO certification are far reaching. He further said, some companies, both private and public, use ISO certification as a filter in their tender screening of service providers adding that the certified status shows their company’s credibility and should instill confidence in the potential clients that they will keep their promise in business.

Lion Assurance Limited is a member of TA Holdings and belongs to a regional insurance group which has its presence in Botswana, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Lion Assurance Limited was re-capitalized In January 2006 to the tune of $7 million, making it the second most capitalized short-term insurer in the Uganda. Based on that, Lion Assurance is regarded as one of the most reliable insurance companies in Uganda. The underlying rationale of recapitalization was to enhance the policy holder security through strengthened balance sheet while at the same time enhancing the underwriting capacity and the service delivery of the company.

Lion Assurance is the third local insurance company to get that kind of ISO certificate, among the many that are in operation today. Lion Assurance was the runner up in the Insurance Services sub-category during the 2012 Financial Reporting (FiRe) Awards. It won in the same category in 2011. Jazire said the streamlining of operational procedures to international standards, whereby all departments started working as a team led Lion Assurance to attain excellence and conformity with the ISO Quality Management system and the eventual accreditation.

“The fact that we aligned our different departments to work together over the last one year must have caught the eye of the ISO certification awarding body to recognize us, and thus award us the certification that we now proud of,” he noted. Amelia Kyambadde the Trade Minister congratulated the management of Lion Assurance for the achievement, cautioning it to enhance existing products and services in order to give better services to the public.

“Management must always remember that the public outside there is watching and they now expect better services and products from Lion Assurance. It is my humble request that Lion Assurance enhances the existing products rather than introduce more,” Kyambadde said.

With the improved access to information through the internet and other media, the public has become more aware of the services they not only expect but deserve from the companies that operate within. More significantly, Ugandans are now able to tell when the services offered are below satisfactory and therefore have become more demanding and particular on products and or services they pay for. She said Ugandans are able to compare services from domestic companies with the best practices across the world.

Therefore, to satisfy the public’s expectation of service delivery, all companies are now required to conform to international quality management systems in order to offer quality services to the public and this is not an exception to Lion Assurance.
Kyambadde added that the government has provided all necessary support for the companies to achieve this, as seen in our trade and standard’s policies.

The fact that Lions Assurance has successfully undergone through ISO 9001:2008 certification processes, which we are celebrating today, is a clear testimony of government’s efforts to encourage companies to offering services which meet international standards. Mr J.K Pandey, the ISO consultant, congratulated Lion Assurance upon the achievement.

“Companies that qualify for ISO standards like Lion Assurance are those that have absolutely consented to the required management systems of operations. ISO management system standards include; ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 31000,” said Mr Pandey.

“Lion Assurance recruits right people with perfect required backgrounds of all the positions in the company, they train all the employees based on the requirements of the particular position so that each employee meets the need and requirement of the client,” he said. He added that the company also carries out right documentation for each activity it takes to avoid any gap in addressing their role and responsibility and it organizes feedback from the clients so that they may address and gap/ lacuna as notified by the clients.

Jazire said Ugandans who are insured by Lion Assurance Company Limited should expect a high level of insurance services quality, continued improvement and practical approach to decision making. He said, having rested their doubts about what Lion Assurance has to offer, following the ISO award, Ugandans are therefore guaranteed that they are dealing with management and staff that is committed, responsive, customer focused and quality conscious.

They are also assured of processes that are convenient, controlled and transparent for their satisfaction, as ISO 9001 certification demonstrates the existence of an effective quality management that satisfies the rigors of an independent, external audit.

Lion Assurance has clinched the most coveted ISO 9001:2008 certification, becoming the third insurance player to receive such an award.To celebrate the achievement, Lion Assurance hosted its key business partners and other players in the insurance industry to a dinner at Serena Kampala Hotel on October 23, 2013. United Registrar of Systems, which is a member of Registrar of Standards (Holdings) Ltd, awarded the certificate to Lion Assurance. ISO 9001:2008 specifies requirements for a quality management system where an organisation needs to demonstrate its ability to consistently provide a product that meets and aims to enhance customer satisfaction through the effective application of the system, including processes for continual improvement of the system and the assurance of comformity to customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements. At the same event, Lion Assurance rewarded its best business partners with the 2013 Lion Business Partner Awards.

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