By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
The Commissioner of Insurance, Mr Sunday Thomas has directed the new leadership of the Nigerian Insurance Association (NIA) to expedite action on the issue of settlement of insurance claims to bonafide claimants.
Thomas who gave the charge in his keynote address at the investiture of Mr. Olusegun Omosehin as the 25th Chairman of the NIA in Lagos on Thursday, urged the new leadership “to deploy the principle of self regulation to take a critical look into this and other similar issues that are capable of demarketing the industry”.
The Chief Executive Officer of the National Insurance Commission noted that though the sector is beginning to experience improvement in terms of patronage and claims payout, the perception of the industry by majority of the public is still not what it should be.
“This is unacceptable and it is high time we changed the narrative collectively as an industry. We must all see this business as an interest that we must all protect and I again challenge the new leadership of the NIA to take on this task.
“I want to equally advise the new leadership to at all times ensure proper communication in engaging the Commission through whatever bilateral windows available. On my appointment as Commissioner for Insurance, I did mention that the focus of the administration is development of the insurance market and I want to believe that this cardinal objective has not changed.
“The Commission has vigorously been driving the issue of market development and enforcement of compulsory insurances these past two years, achieving some gains in the process. Greater efforts have been made to partner state governments on enforcement of compulsory insurances and insurances of their assets.
“The Commission had embarked on this drive to till the ground while expecting the operators to take over and engage the markets but the response from the industry is less than satisfactory”, he added.
Thomas assured the association that the Commission will continue to support the insurance industry and specifically the operators and players to thrive by instituting policies that encourage equal access, investment of funds and healthy competition.
He said, “to actualize our core mandate as an industry, we must facilitate improved perception of the insurance industry, as public confidence in our industry depends among other things on how promptly and fairly we deliver on our promises and obligations to our customers and stakeholders.
“The Commission will not relent in protecting all stakeholders in the industry, however, we must all understand and appreciate that the mandate of the Commission cuts across stakeholders with varying expectations thus, the need to implement far reaching initiatives to develop the market and expand the frontiers of the industry while guaranteeing the protection of each stakeholder to the best of our ability”.
The NAICOM boss commended the leadership style of the outgoing Chairman of NIA, Mr Ganiyu Musa as evidenced in the “unprecedented strides in the various components of our beloved industry”.
He added, “I must commend the leadership style of the outgoing Chairman of the NIA Mr. Ganiyu Musa for his amiable leadership and stability of the operations of the Association, his resilience, commitment, and strong passion for the development of the insurance industry. We must also not forget his active role in ensuring the completion and eventual commissioning of the new Head Office of the NIA during his tenure”.
