All Posts in "Day: September 29, 2022"

Naicom markets insurance initiatives development, compulsory insurance in Edo State

National Insurance Commission, Naicom has taken insurance market development initiatives and enforcement of compulsory insurance to Edo State.

CAPTION

L –  Karachi Anyanwu, NAICOM; Rasaaq Salami, Head of Corporate Communications and Market Development, NAICOM; Bar. Osarodion Ogie, Secretary to Edo State Government; Adeyemi Abubakar, Assistant Director, NAICOM and, John Osagie, Chairman of Edo State Internal Revenue Services at the meeting between NAICOM and the Edo State Government in Benin City.

Patoma Admin by — September 29, 2022 in Insurance 0
Tony Elumelu commends Naicom for investor-friendly

By Favour Nnabugwu
 

The Chairman of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Heirs Holdings, Mr Tony Elumelu has commended the National Insurance Commission, Naicom for the investor- friendly act which made it possible for Heirs Insurance and Heirs Life to come on board after 8 years.

Elumelu in his Keynote address at the 60th anniversary celebration of the Nigeria Council of Registered Insurance Brokers, NCRIB, said it took the companies 8 years trying to process the establishment of the two insurance companies which was possible under the tenure of the Commission For Insurance, Mr Sunday Thomas.
He said UBA has established office in over 20 countries including the United State of America but in all of them, Nigeria’ laws are investor-friendly than the countries they mark their present in.
“Africa’s global bank present in 20 African countries including France, USA, UK, and the UAE And the catalytic work”
Giving his inspiration to the banking industry, he recalled, “In those days when I was in university, what drove me to want to join banking?  it was the profile of bankers, sharp suits, nice carsIt’s funny now that I think about it, but little things on how the people that worked in banking looked made me aspire to the banking profession.
He added that even in his foundation, what we do at the Tony Elumelu Foundation in empowering young Africans across the 54 countries on the continent So far, over 15,000 young African entrepreneurs have benefitted directly from the Foundation through the provision of a $5,000 non-refundable seed capital, alongside business training, mentorship, and market access to these young African entrepreneurs.
Patoma Admin by — September 29, 2022 in Insurance 0
Weed out unregistered, unethical brokers from the arm – Elumelu tasks NCRIB

CAPTION:
L- Commissioner For Insurance, Mr Sunday Thomas, Chairman of Heirs Holdings, Mr Tony Elumelu; President of the Nigeria Council of Registered Insurance Brokers, NCRIB, Mr Rotimi Edu and the Executive Secretary of NCRIB, Mr Tope Adaramola at the 60th anniversary celebration in Lagos
By Favour Nnabugwu 
Chairman of United Bank for Africa, UBA, Mr Tony Elumelu has advised the the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers, NCRIB, to sifr the brokerage sector of the unregistered and unethical brokers.
Elumelu who delivered a Keynote address at NCRIB 60th anniversary theme: 60 years of Insurance Broking: Redefining the practice and professionals, the brokerage sector need to cleanse the sub- sector of unruly brokers who flaunt the rules and regulations of the body.
He was emphatically practical about the sanitizing the brokerage arm, “The need for the body to weed out non-registered and non-compliant members from its fold.
“These are the ones tarnishing the image of the broking profession and the industry at large.An insurance broker must be professional at all times.In redefining the practice and practitioners in the broking profession, NCRIB should lead the war against many of the unethical practices that have been the bane of the industry for years”
Elumelu further said, “These  include premium rate cutting, delayed premium remittance, unremitted premium, overloading of premium, returned premium, fake documents, fraudulent claims, collusion to defraud, mis-selling, unhealthy competition, misrepresentations, manipulation of policy conditions, self-enrichment methods disguised as marketing expenses, and many more”
Elumelu said that while the National Insurance Commission continue to play it’s role, NCRIB should sanction brokers that violate the rules and regulations governing the brokerage arm
“While NAICOM continues to play its role as the industry regulator, NCRIB as a body must ensure that appropriate sanctions are imposed on any of its members found using unethical practices”
The NCRIB That is why we decided to introduce smart, simple insurance to the Nigerian market to better service this underserved market NCRIB’s Contributions.
Defining the broker, he said the the insurance broker is a professional. He represents the interests of insurance consumers and provides them with expert advice, guidance, and support on insurance matters.
The NCRIB serves as a central organisation for the regulation of all practicing insurance brokers in Nigeria. Members of NCRIB have, over the years, facilitated insurance businesses in hundreds of billions of naira, delighted millions of Nigerians with their professional insurance services, and ensured that claims are duly settled.
Apart from weeding the arm of bad brokers, he said there is also need to adhere strictly to the enforcement of corporate governance  by all the members of NCRIB.
“We must strive to achieve the highest levels of professionalism and dedication to delivering excellent service to the public who rely on us to provide them with comfort In the area of Governance.
“We as an industry need to enforce strict adherence to corporate governance by all NCRIB members”
He said there is a lot of benefit from collaboration in the industry while he called on NCRIB to collaborate more with other insurance industry bodies to deepen insurance penetration in Nigeria.
“Where there are differences on issues, such must be resolved as friends and colleagues to protect and preserve the image of the industry. The body should also play a key role in government advocacy for pro-insurance laws and policies”
The brokerage arm should be more innovative, technology, bridging the gap, create more awareness and bench mark against global trend.
“The insurance industry can benefit from innovation across all phases of the service. For this to happen, there is the need to reward and incentivise innovation across the industry”
“The  industry must also benchmark against global trends. Perhaps the starting point for innovation in the broking arm of the industry is retail insurance development”
“It is high time the brokers community began to shift focus to retail because this is where the future of insurance lies in Nigeria. Brokers have the capacity to lead in this area.
“Trying to make profits from existing lines is not going to deepen insurance penetration, rather we must look at the blue ocean opportunities”
‘There is a need to generate more awareness and showcase the value of insurance to the public, promoting participation, most especially in the retail space.
“We must bridge the insurance knowledge gap if we are to make insurance attractive to Nigerians Insurance brokers need to participate fully in this drive as they stand to benefit from the initiative like other players in the market.
“The entire Nigerian insurance industry, must embrace technology fully.The body also needs to work towards positioning its members properly for digital integration, mediating between the insuring public and the underwriters digitally.”
The brokers industry cannot advance when the other financial services are transitioning to online real time and we are still stuck with a system that relies on hard copy files and documents
Patoma Admin by — September 29, 2022 in Insurance 0
Operators from Nigeria, other 35 countries in Ghana for AIRDC after 20 years

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

 

 

Twenty years after the conference of Association of Insurers and Reinsurers of Developing Countries (AIRDC) was held in Nigeria, Operators from 36 developing countries are already in Accra discussing measures to boost insurance industries in developing economies.

Chief executive officers, experts, practitioners from insurance and reinsurance companies are from Nigeria,  Ghana, Egypt, Angola, Togo, Benin, Kenya, Guinea, Liberia, Nepal, Philippines and Senegal, among others for conference which started on September 25 – 28, 2022.

It is being hosted by the National Insurance Commission (NIC) and Organised by the Association of Insurers and Reinsurance of Developing Countries (AIRDC).

It has the theme; “Building Resilience in the Heat of a Global Economic Tussle.” The programme is being held under the auspices of the Association of Insurance Supervisory Authorities for Developing Countries.

The objective of the four-day international conference aimed at coming out with measures to increase the share of developing economies in the global insurance market.

The Commissioner of Insurance, Dr Justice Yaw Ofori, said Ghana was hosting the 22nd AIRDC educational international conference for the first time.

He said the last time the conference was held in West Africa was 20 years ago (2002) in Nigeria.

Dr Ofori said the objective of the programme was to come out with strategies to increase the share of the developing economies of the global insurance market.

According to him, the share of the developing countries in the global insurance market was paltry and a huge chunk of insurance businesses were operated by developed economies.

Dr Ofori said the conference would help the insurance and reinsurance companies to come together, collaborate and have a united front and voice in the world insurance market.

The Commissioner of Insurance said the conference would create avenues for the insurance and reinsurance companies to discuss technological innovations to enhance the insurance industry.

The President of AIRDC, Yassir Albaharna said the theme for the conference was chosen in view of global economic developments.

“The subject of resilience has gained a lot attention lately, as world economies continue to be impacted by range of macro-economic, political, social and technological factors on a scale not before.

Building greater resilience has therefore become a defining mandate of our time,” he said.

Achieving financial resilience, Mr Albaharna, said depended on the development of financial strategies that relied on country risk assessment and financing tools.

Dr Mohamed Ibn Chambas, a former Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa and Sahel, who was the Special Guest of Honour said insurance as a risk transfer mechanism, had played fundamental roles in helping humanity overcome adversities.

Dr Chambas expressed the hope that the insurance industry in developing world could help address the currently global economic challenges, saying “I am optimistic that insurance can once again play the critical role it has frequently demonstrated in difficult periods.”

Patoma Admin by — September 29, 2022 in Insurance 0