Team of actuaries bids to take over Bona Life

With a portfolio of P712 million in policies, Bona Life was placed under statutory management in January, after it failed to meet the prudential capital thresholds set by the Non-Bank Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority (NBFIRA).

The life insurer struggled due to a shareholder stalemate over recapitalisation of the business, which saw the firm’s founder, Regina Sikalesele-Vaka, exit early in January. Bona Life’s statutory manager, Paul Masie recently told BusinessWeek evaluation of bids was ongoing and would likely be finalised before year end. This week, Edwin Puso Afitile, one of less than five qualified Batswana actuaries, told BusinessWeek his company, Empirica had put in a bid for Bona Life, backed by a management team with “in excess of 100 years of experience in life insurance”.