Leaked: Top CIC Insurance director on the spot amidst allegations of swindle, misdeeds

Queries have emerged after a director of a leading insurance company in the country is playing double standards after starting his own brokerage firm.

Documents in our possession indicate that CIC Insurance director Cornelius Ashira established a firm Quest Insurance Brokers last year and has in the last few months, raked millions of shillings from the parent company.

Established as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for commission payment services in July 2018, the firm has in the first six months of operations earned astronomical figures in the tight-race insurance industry.

“This is not anything you will call business, it is a complete clash of interest and one that is not acceptable in the local economy. We have heard of insider trading in the past, but there Is case where someone opens an insurance brokerage and three months down the line, they are managing millions of shilling from one source in which the founder has made his own brother CEO or Managing Editor.

“Look at it from any angle, but a case where the brother to one of the directors heads a firm that trades and does business with the firm is not acceptable. This is brazen, it is impunity and one of the many things in this country that we are trying to fight and make a just society. Quest Insurance brokers founded by Cornelius and trades with CIC Insurance where he sits as director is not acceptable. This one should be fought from all angles,” says a private broker who has a long relationship with CIC Insurance.

In documents availed to us, the from Trance Towers on Mombasa Road according to their website was formed in 2018 and within a few months, they had collected a net commission of Sh15,414,450 courtesy of an arrangement which has seen the firm allocated all the large group life schemes from CIC Life, one of the leading in the industry.

In the list availed from the report as at October 2018, Co-op Consultancy lead in the list of brokers paid by CIC. Conspicuously Quest Group Insurance was the third in line in the Global Agency Figures, high above renowned firms in the business, pointing a finger at the reason behind the scheme that has been struck by the two brothers in the larger scheme to gain business through undue influence and seetheart dealings in the business firm that controls billions of shillings.

“This is a strong statement that confirms the suspicion and true facts that the firm is getting undue influence through the position of Cornelius, first in the insurance industry and secondly, through a firm that he created purposely to gain advantage in a business he is deeply involved. Do we call that conflict of interest?” say businessmen from three of the leading brokerages in the country.

On the other end, it has been it is confirmed that CIC Life, which has been, has offered undue advantage due to the position of one of the directors.

GLOBAL AGENCY FIGURE

CO-OP CONSULTANCY & INSURANCE AGENCY 63,158,245.00

OPTIMUS INSURANCE AGENCY 19,388,159.00

QUESTGROUP INSURANCE BROKERS LIMITED 15,414,450.00

LIBERTY INSURANCE BROKERS LTD 14,647,490.00

LIAISON INSURANCE BROKERS LIMITED 7,750,081.00

ALEXANDER FORBES RISK & INSURANCE BROKERS LTD 7,702,949.00

SURETY INSURANCE CONSULTING AGENCY5, 677,200.00

EARNEST INSURANCE AGENCY 3,883,627.00

In another list, QuestGroup Insurance leads in the league of top-five brokers from CIC Life pushing legends and experienced hands in the business to the periphery.

TOP FIVE BROKERS 

Net Commission Overrides Total

QUESTGROUP INSURANCE BROKERS LIMITED

15,414,450.00 18,806,500.40

LIBERTY INSURANCE BROKERS LTD, 14,647,490.00

LIAISON INSURANCE BROKERS LIMITED 7,750,081.00

ALEXANDER FORBES RISK & INSURANCE BROKERS LTD 7,702,949.00

AON MINET INSURANCE BROKERS LTD 1,240,362.00

Totals -46,755,332.0

In the company Peter Ashira is described as an Entrepreneur and an Investment/ Financial Consultant. The founder Quest Group Consulting Limited, Quest Books Africa Ltd, and Quest Real Estate Ltd. Besides having his own entities – some fastest growing in Kenya, he has helped many businesses set up efficient business systems, find their market niche and segment, turned them from loss-making to profits.

The management team also has Anna Mngolia is passionate about service to humanity in everything she does. She has had a wealth of experience spanning over 25 years in the non-profit sector having worked in various international organizations, most recently for the Ford Foundation

Others are lawyer Walter Owaga  and Catherine Kerubo, working as the Principal Officer