It is rare day at the 2021 directors confab in Lagos where the Commissioner for Insurance Sunday Thomas, tells insurance industry directors that there still exist insurance companies that throw caution to the wind by reneging their obligation to pay claims.
Thomas bare face charge on claims avoidance is different from previous public statements that were made to douse concern on the issue. He presents it today with the admission that the Commission knows the issue still lingers. His comments, “One issue that has been setting the industry on a reverse gear in its developmental efforts is the issue of claims settlement.”
Deflated NAICOM helmsman said this stain that spews on all operators is generated by a few and creating a sludge that will require all to dislodge. He puts the deviant companies on the spot. “A few amongst us have been making this work a tedious one by not paying claims promptly.”
Steadying the fact that insurance companies are in business to pay claims he declares, “We should know as a fact that insurance is about payment of genuine claims and anything short of that will continue to hurt insurance business in the country poor reputation, perception and image. I urge you to look at this issue at your level and deal with it decisively as it has continued to give the industry a bad name.”
Another point where insurance is falling away despite the embrace is the confidence of the government, particularly that of President Muhammadu Buhari towards the industry earned by the support to the federal government in fighting the pandemic. However, this closeness the first in more than 60 years of industry history Thomas remarked, is not being fully recognised by the industry. Determined to make the industry see the big picture he nudged the directors, “We should take this as a golden opportunity to take insurance to its rightful place in our economy.”
As an industry that exists for others to survive Thomas said there are survival kits the market must put on “in order to conveniently shoulder the responsibility of helping other businesses to survive.”
Bracing for the future, he declares, “The future of insurance is arguably the future of our economy. We are leaders in our own rights and the success or failure of the sector is in our hands as decision makers.”
