The standing of loss adjusters in the insurance market has been slipping since the subject of review of 31year old professional fee agreement with the Nigerian Insurers Association has remained dormant. The subsisting agreement was signed in 1992.
This concern that if the situation remains as it is the Institute of Loss Adjusters of Nigeria (ILAN) might become ‘extinct’ informed the ILAN president Diipo Olanrewaju and his team including former President, Alhaji Shamsudeen Femi Hassan to pay a scheduled visit to the Commissioner for Insurance, Sunday Thomas at the Abuja headquarters of National Insurance Commission
At the first meeting with new ILAN EXCO accompanied by a former President, Olanrewaju said we “discussed issues of Loss Adjusting extinction with CFI and the Commissioner is prepared to ensure that the loss adjusting arm of the industry will receive necessary support to keep the unit more vibrant and that the era of foreign loss adjusters dominance is gone.”
He said the meeting stressed the need for underwriters to keep to existing conditions under which foreign loss adjusters are allowed to operate in the market, which compels them to participate in any claim in the Nigerian market along with local (Nigerian) loss adjusters.
The form of rescue mission promised by the Commission has not been worked out, but ILAN is confident that the Commission will walk it out from the narrow way again. A similar intervention was executed by NAICOM in 2018 when it issued a circular, “Inter Company Balances And Payment of Loss Adjuster’s Fee.”
The Commission’s March 2018 circular “noted with concern the increasing cases of non-settlement of co-insurance, facultative and/or reinsurance claim recoveries due to or from co-insurers/reinsurers/retrocessionaires. Also of concern is the delay and in some cases none payment of loss adjuster’s fees promptly by operators the adjusters have worked for.”
The relief from the circular was short lived, as outstanding professional fees owed by the principal, insurance companies piled again and subsequent far in between engagement with the NIA was a stalemate.
