Insurance professionals have been challenged to do more to reverse the call up associated with poor claims handling, price based competition, laggard IT posture and inadequate inclusiveness.
The Commissioner for Insurance, Mr. Sunday Thomas gave the charge to the insurance market at the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) 2022 Chief Executives Retreat held at Epe, Lagos, noting that accommodating these deficiencies fundamentally impact on the Nigerian insurance industry ability to sustain profitability.
Thomas explained that what will follow would be unsustainable trends that could create significant pressures on the Nigerian insurance industry’s obligation to policyholders and profitability.
He said there are other practices that along with the ones stated, are hedges against profitability which include lack of customer centric innovative products, concentration of operations in few locations, focus on big ticket businesses like oil and gas, aviation, poor risk governance and poor distribution channels and skill.
Thomas said the way forward was a move towards changing the narrative and embrace transparency, engagement of all stakeholders, improved and innovative products, new sources of revenue, improved claims service, use of technology for inclusive insurance, diversification of business base and improved corporate governance.
Also speaking, the President, Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers, Mr. Rotimi Edu, urged stakeholders in the insurance broking firms to embrace practices that compatible with business sustainability and through that secure the future of the Nigerian insurance industry
Mr. Edu said, ‘as an arm of the insurance sector, our collective resolve to ensure business sustainability and collective growth and development with other arms of the industry will determine how far we can all go in achieving industry wide stability.
“In line with my thrust of office, we will continue to engage relevant professional bodies for the benefit of members. Our commitment to ensuring that the insurance broking profession becomes a house hold name is top priority on the agenda of this administration.” he stated.
Edu said the secretariat is committed to achieving these goals, adding that the ongoing robust engagement with other professional bodies has been rewarding for all and the Council will soon be paying courtesy visit to Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), among many other professional bodies pencilled for courtesy visits.
