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
