The President of the Institute of Loss Adjusters of Nigeria (ILAN), Mr. Ikechukwu Udobi, dubs the ongoing recapitalisation exercise as the forerunner to ever increasing local capacity and, ultimately make Nigeria one of Africa’s major insurance hub.
Udobi said the market is on the threshold of building additional capacity and redefining the local insurance market in a way that has not taken place up and until now. This he cleared, put the industry in the pedestal of of a market ready to engage big and emerging risks.
The impact he cleared in a recent interview, would not be limited to insurers and reinsurers alone, but also Loss Adjusters who are on the sidelines ready to be signed on to adjust big risks the new enlarged capacity would allow in the event of the risk happening.
Building block of support for the recapitalisation exercise, Udobi said what would follow is that foreign cession take less prominent seat to align with new capacity available in the market. He said while companies would take what their exposure permit, the broader level of NIIRA he cleared, emphasised risk based cover which aligns the risk taken to the underwriting capacity.
Coming to the Adjusters place in the exercise, he said Loss Adjusters are not required to raise capital, “but we know that with recapitalisation there would be improved, higher risks exposure that would require adjusters to upscale their skill to be able to match emerging trends.”
He explained that with bigger risks, there would be more complex claims to undertaken by adjusters and what is expected from adjusters is to upscale and get ready for what is coming ahead. He reiterated that in the phase coming, if there is a claim, the Nigerian adjuster would be the one directly in involved and his skill and expertise is what would be at display.
Udobi stressed that with bigger risks the focus of adjusters would be to embark on upgrading dimension of professional development and improve claims handling. The resolve to acquire more skills he admitted, has taken a different level. In anticipation of this, he said the Association has scheduled training for its members. “There is something we must not lose sight of, we have a repertoire of experts who are willing and ready to support the upcoming adjusters in train in this specialised area of bigger risks.”
