Finance

By Tennyson Sampson

THE recent hike in the cost of insurance policies in the country, especially the popular third party policy for only private motor vehicles from N5000 to N15000 has not helped the stakeholders perception of the industry during this austere times caused largely by the removal of petrol subsidy in the country

However, the Chief Executive Officer, CEO, of the National Insurance Commission, NAICOM, and Commissioner for Insurance, Sunday Thomas, believes that the situation in the industry is not beyond redemption.

Speaking at the 2023 Retreat for Financial Journalists, who cover the insurance industry in Uyo, the capital of Akwa Ibom state in August, Thomas announced that the insurance industry and the Federal Government were working on the guidelines for the protection of the assets of the government across the country.

He disclosed that since the inauguration of the new administration led by President Bola Tinubu, he had met with the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Sen. George Akume, to work out the guidelines to insure the assets of the federal government across the country.

“We are taking it very seriously and President Bola Tinubu as well as a former governor of Lagos State, established insurance culture in the state.

“Until today, all the regimes that succeeded him as governors in Lagos State have followed the template he laid in insurance,” the report by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quoted Thomas as saying.

According to him, President Tinubu is interested in the insurance industry and may likely replicate what he did in Lagos State at the federal level.

Thomas explained that the income being generated as premium payment over the years by the government has appreciated and that a lot of changes have taken place in terms of the relationship between the government and the insurance industry.

Apart from securing government’s assets across the country, NAICOM has been engaged in furnishing the Insurance firms with model financial reporting mapping out well-tailored sensitization and awareness workshops on compulsory insurance across the country.

With ‘Improving stakeholders perception; 2023 and beyond’ as the theme of the Uyo retreat for more than 200 journalists, the National Insurance Commission used the forum to further educate Nigerians on the benefits of insurance and the importance of the third party policy which is a requirement for all vehicles plying the roads in the country.  NAICOM also addressed some of the concerns bordering on Life Insurance, Asset Replacement and consolidation of exchange rates as it affects the country’s economy. 

Some of the speakers at the two-day retreat included Usman Jankara, Assistant Director, Corporate strategy and special duties, who spoke on the topic, the Insurance Sector and the Nigerian Economy in the past eight years; the Impact, challenges and the new frontiers.

Spotlighting some of the challenges, Jankara stated that deregulatory factors, demand factors, environment influence, cultures and habits as some of the major concerns in confronting insurance policies in Nigeria.

He, however, explained that NAICOM has been engaging state governments and other stakeholders on the importance of insurance in driving economic development of the country.

In the same vein, Augustina Unojake explained why some Nigerians in the past saw Insurance as a scam. Unojake, who is Assistant Director Complaint bureau life, NAICOM, said in her paper on Re-awakening the Nigeria Insurance industry through claims settlement, that some Nigerian, who are uninformed about insurance policies, often believe that the scheme is developed to rob them of their hard earned money.

She, however, acknowledged that “it was difficult persuading them to buy insurance policies” and that the situation in the industry has improved.

In his presentation, Ibrahim Ngaski, Assistant Director of Information Technology, NAICOM stressed the need for insurance agents or brokers to implore the use of technology in their approaches.

Speaking on the topic: Leveraging Technology to promote insurance inclusiveness, Ngaski highlighted some of the ways technology can be applied to create impact in the industry.

According to him, the Commission has taken measures to ensure that technology is well utilized by the players in the industry.

It will be recalled that in its effort to furnish Insurance firms with model financial reporting, NAICOM had in the last decades mapped out well-tailored Sensitization and Awareness workshops on compulsory insurance across the country.

For instance, NAICOM had during the Insurance Directors Conference held in Lagos in January 2023 that it would not go back on the proposed implementation of the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS17) in the insurance industry.

The Commissioner for Insurance had during the conference urged the board members of each insurance company to be prepared and follow up on the implementation of the International Financial Reporting Standards.

It is also gathered that NAICOM, has over the years, organieed over 200 workshops and training programmes for insurance practitioners and journalists in order to promote the growth of the insurance sector.

However, it was not only speeches and lectures as the journalists were treated to a lavish cocktail and dinner at the prestigious Ibom ICON Hotel and Golf Resort, Uyo. In addition, NAICOM recognised and presented awards to a couple of Journalists, who had distinguish themselves and made excellent contributions to the insurance industry through their coverage of the industry.

Notable among the awardees was THISDAY’s Insurance Sector Correspondent, Ebere Nwoji, who won the maiden edition of the award for the print Media Reporter of 2023 award instituted by the Insurance Commission in 2022.

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September 8 2023 @ 18:47 GMT|

Tags: Ebere Nwoji George Akume President Bola Tinubu Sunday Thomas