Barely days into new office as the President, Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers NCRIB, Mrs. Ekeoma Ezeibe, is rolling out the position of her tenure where the Brokers will take more responsibilities to raise the penetration mark, and the other trade bodies in the insurance industry will together, create new zeal to deliberate with the intent to take their rightful place in the economy of the nation.
This was made known today at the maiden media chart with members of Nigerian Association of Insurance and Pension Editors NAIPE at the Brokers House at Yaba, Lagos.
Ekeoma Ezeibe said the professionals of the various arms of the insurance market have realised that they play a sustainable role in imprinting insurance embrace in the lives and businesses of consumers. Brokers she emphasised, are the lead vanguard of reaching the consumers. “It is our responsibility to go out and take advantage of the Nigeria Insurance Industry Reform Act 2025” This Act NCRIB President pointed out, has unleashed opportunities for brokers to widen the insurance cover net and place same with underwriters.
Looking at the bigger picture of today’s insurance landscape, she said all the arms of the market will be on duty including the loss adjusters whose services would be required to adjust large claims as well as the media that would be involved in disseminating information about the workings of insurance.
Already in motion is her insurance penetration advocacy that would revolve round insurance brokers for the benefit of the whole industry. The Area Committees in the major regional hubs of insurance in the country will play the major role. The starting point will be the Abia State in the South East as the pilot state to run the insurance penetration project anchored by NCRIB.
Abia was chosen according to her because the state is a commercial nerve centre classified as a low penetration state but with a high potential for encouraging insurance embrace going by the strides of the present government in infrastructure, regular power by private sector power investment that guarantees regular power and emerging economic development not only by government strategic investment but the peoples determination to raise the bar of indigenous development. She said the state has been a major hub for conglomerates to invest manufacturing plants before now. With the current phase of business rejuvenation, Ezeibe said it is time to partner with the State Government to provide the platform brokers could latch onto to take insurance services to all nook and crannies of the state.
In a state like Abia where commerce is thriving and small scale businesses are taking advantage of positive development in the state and without insurance component in all of this she said the tomorrow of continued prosperity is not guaranteed. It then means she said insurance brokers have to create a situation that averts businesses experience situations where they can no longer continue because their risks were not covered in the event of risks not insured happening.
In the pilot project of penetrating the whole state with insurance, the NCRIB President said a partnership with the state government will soon be put together which she described as “the fastest way to achieve insurance penetration. Its the fastest way to achieve compulsory insurance. By partnering with them , they give us the platform on which on which to ride as insurance brokers to gain entry and get those businesses to underwriters. The underwriters are waiting for us to get those businesses. We intend to bring insurance to every door step no matter how remote that place would be” and this businesses she noted, includes Takaful Islamic insurance.
Featured Picture: NCRIB President Ekeoma Ezeibe (centre) with Mr.Tope Adaramola Executive Secretary/CEO and Mrs. Funke Adenusi, Deputy President NCRIB at the event.
