The maiden edition of the Insurance Industry Parley has been used as the launch pad for the solid rock boosters to lift insurance underwriting into the sphere of sustainable insurance; the resource persons assembled said the Nigerian market needs to transit, practice and promote sustainable related risks which is the future of risks.
Organised by the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria’s (CIIN) on Tuesday May 31 in Lagos, with all arms of the industry and NAICOM present, the insurance notables stressed the need to have the proper tools and approach to managing the global sustainable relatable risks which are environmental, social and governance (ESG) and endorsed by the regulator which they proclaimed, is crucial to attain a consolidated insurance industry effort.
Themed ‘Sustainable Insurance-Issues and Trends’, the presenter of the regulator’s perspective, the Head IT Department, National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Mr. Abiodun Aribike, said that the insurance regulator; NAICOM is using Information Technology to drive sustainable insurance in Nigeria., and that the Commission in partnership with the Financial Sector Deeping Africa (FSD) Africa recently launched the Risk, Resilience and Regulatory Laboratory (R3Lab) in Lagos to ensure this purpose is achieved.
Aribike said that the initiative is aimed at mitigating the impact of specific challenges in the insurance regulatory environment in Nigeria and explore ways collaboration, technology and insurance supervision can build capacity and improve the regulatory effectiveness of Africa’s insurance industry. “The R3Lab offers a three-tiered approach towards building the technical capacity and skills of the regulator on innovation and sustainable insurance,” he said.
The insurance come in channel was anchored by the Head, Retail Solutions, Axa Mansard, Mrs. Rashidat Adebisi, with emphasis on the need for economy operators to start working on sustainability for the future by shifting their focus from investing in just oil revenues to gas, as gas is more sustainable. “The world is currently shifting away from oil. We need to start investing in gas which is more sustainable and greener. We need to take actions on sustainable goals as this helps the environment to be save. I urge everyone here to start and lead the sustainable goals conversations in their various companies because sustainability is key”, she charged.
Speaking on the broker’s perspective, Alhaji Saheed Egbeyemi of Hogg Robinson Nigeria Limited, noted that opportunities abound for the sector to tap into and flourish but the issues of rate cutting and unhealthy competition have to be addressed. Unhealthy acts he admitted, deflates sustainable underwriting. For the former President of the Institute of Loss Adjusters of Nigeria (ILAN), Mr. Ralph Opara, representing the loss adjusters, he said ILAN is doing a lot to ensure sustainability because the arm remains the life wire of the insurance value chain.
On her part, the Rector, College of Insurance and Financial Management (CIFM), Dr. (Mrs.)Yeside Oyetayo, said ESG risks are now a criteria to determining a company that is sustainable hence, trainings and programmes on sustainable risks need to be factored into the insurance industry academic curriculum and the industry needs to collaborate with other sectors.
The Managing Director and the chairman of the occasion, Mr. Olusegun Omosehin, urged all to embrace collaboration and innovation which he pointed to are the keys are for the industry sustainability. “Opportunities are before us as underwriters so we need to transition into green insurance so we can sustain the businesses and future of insurance in Nigeria”, he said.
The President of CIIN, Sir (Dr.) Muftau Oyegunle, earlier, said the event is a new and focused on giving back to its members and the insurance community in general. The objective he noted, “is to bring all stakeholders from the different arms of the insurance industry together, to discuss the business environment and how it affects the operations of the sector as well as charting the way forward for insurance to thrive in the country.
Optimistic that the parley would be sustained, he said the theme “is indeed very apt and strategic considering the era we are in.” He assured the attendees that the engagement and interactions of all stakeholders will be in an enlightening and forward-looking approach. He said the resource persons would identify, assess, and point to ways of managing and monitoring risks and opportunities associated with environmental, socio- economic and governance issues and how they impact the insurance industry.
