Naicom asked for compliance on compulsory insurances

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has beseeched Federal Government’s Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to domesticate and help in the enforcement of compulsory insurances in the country.

The Commissioner for Insurance, Mr. Sunday Thomas implored government at the sensitization workshop for insurance desk officers of Ministries, Departments and Agencies on insurance of Federal Government assets and liabilities in Abuja.

He explained that the sensitization Workshop was aimed at equipping insurance desk officers with the necessary tools to ensure that all MDAs have adequate insurance coverage for all government assets and liabilities to curb wastage occasioned by losses of uninsured assets.

Thomas stated that it has now more than before become imperative to put in place measures to guide MDAs on procuring adequate insurances for assets under their watch, stressing that the provision of Section 7 (d) of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) Act 1997 stipulates that the Commission shall ensure adequate protection of strategic government assets and other properties.

“Section 7 (f) of the Act, also provides that the Commission shall act as Adviser to the Federal Government on all insurance related matters, he recalled”

He said, “It is very worrisome to the Commission that most assets and liabilities of government are never adequately and appropriately insured, which further accentuated the need for urgent measures to be put in place by the Commission to ensure that government gets value for money in the purchase of insurance by MDAs and that it is the desire of NAICOM to change this narrative for good”.

“The essence of Insurance of Government Assets and Liabilities is to cushion the impact and reduce the burden that the government would have to bear in likely occurrences of catastrophic events such as natural disasters, fire, accidents, building collapse, injuries or death to third parties, etc, thereby saving the government money which can be channeled towards augmenting the needs of the citizenry, providing infrastructure, and creating employment, among others.

He put forward, “As you may be aware, NAICOM in 2009, launched the Market Development and Restructuring Initiative (MDRI) project which aimed at creation of awareness on compulsory insurance products, education of the public on the long-term benefits of insurance to policyholders and the economy at large, among others”

He continued, “While NAICOM bore the responsibility of disseminating key messaging on the benefits of compulsory insurance, we relied on Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies to help domesticate the Initiative in their respective offices and perhaps, serve as the primary vehicles for enforcement of compulsory insurances in their various MDAs,” he said.

He asserted that it was expected that insurance desk officers will have the capacity to gauge the insurance protection needs of government assets under their purview and provide their principals with technical advice on the required insurance coverage for government assets and liabilities.

The CFI said, “Building the capacity of insurance desk officers, enthroning transparency and accountability to ensure that government gets value for money in the purchase of insurance thus taking us all a step further in contributing effectively to the economic growth and development of Nigeria is an ongoing project of the Commission”.