By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
The Commissioner for Insurance, Mr Sunday Thomas, said the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), will continue to execute market development initiatives to uplift the Insurance sector to a global standard.
According to Mr Sunday, one the major initiatives is for NAICOM to engage stakeholders including state governments towards ensuring domestication of the laws to ensure compliance with compulsory insurances and improve the business of insurance in their respective states.
In his opening remarks at a seminar for insurance journalists in Lagos at the weekend, the Commissioner said the Commission is also promoting the development of products and business models that will meet the needs of the financially excluded group.
Speaking on the theme of the conference: “The Future of the Nigerian Insurance Sector in a Shifting Landscape,” Thomas said NAICOM will also ensure automation of the Commission’s processes with a focus on actuarial capacity development programme and risk-based supervision regime.
He said, “Furthermore, the insurance sector plays a vital role in financial inclusion because it reduces the poverty line, assist people to manage their risk and protect them from the negative adverse effect of any unforeseeable circumstances as well as increases access to other financial services.
“In today’s modern business environment, disruption plays an integral part of any business, hence innovation being implemented by the Commission is geared towards gaining control of a specific segment of the market that has been left untapped by encouraging the introduction of products tailored to the consumers in order to grow insurance businesses.”
He said the theme of the conference at this period of rejuvenation, “calls for the Nigerian insurance sector to develop innovative products and distribution channels, embark upon massive infrastructural development, improvement in social safety nets scheme, rejig business continuity plans and general deployment of technology to meet the expectation of today’s consumers and create new experiences that add value.”
The NAICOM boss said the Commission is encouraged to believe in a new dawn in all facets of regulatory policies, leveraging technological innovations, and a positive paradigm shift focused and poised to meet the anticipated surge in the demand side of the economy.”
Thomas expressed concerns about some people occupying high positions in the various insurance companies who are causing problems for and de-marketing the industry.
He warned that “anybody that is not known to the Commission and is participating in a critical role in any of the insurance companies will be banned from participating in the insurance sector henceforth. We will make sure that the person does not participate in the insurance business in this country anymore”.
He said that the insurance sector in Nigeria must develop innovative products, distribution channels and embark on massive infrastructure development.
He added that stakeholders in the industry must improve on social safety net schemes, rejig business continuity plans, create new experiences that add value and deploy technology to meet the expectations of today’s consumers.
The commissioner added that NAICOM was also driving the Market Development and Restructuring Initiative to promote compulsory insurance products.
Thomas said that NAICOM also engaged in Feasibility Assessment for Index Based Risk Transfer Solution in the agricultural sector, driving financial inclusion via focused insurance awareness campaign for the financially-excluded.
He noted that the Commission had unveiled the Insurtech Accelerator platforms under its Insurance Market Development programme in conjunction with Financial Sector Deepening-Africa
According to him, the Commission is in an on-going partnership with the Nairobi-based FSD-Africa in developing a Risk-Based Capital Model for Nigeria’s insurance industry.
Thomas added that NAICOM had also set up the insurance sector committee on African Continental Free Trade Area among others, adding that since disruption was integral in modern business environments, innovations being implemented by the Commission were meant to gain control of specific untapped segments of the market.
Thomas said that the Commission also encouraged the introduction of products that met consumers’ tastes in order to grow insurance businesses.
He said also that the global business environment would continue to grapple with the lingering effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and the on-going Russia-Ukraine war that had impacted negatively on world economies.
Thomas assured that as regulators, NAICOM would continue to consolidate on government’s cardinal agenda of developing the market and fostering insurance-inclusion with mutual collaboration of the media and other relevant stakeholders.
He said the seminar was specially organised considering a lot of changes in the business environment in the last few years.
Papers presented at the 2-day seminar were: “The Future of the Nigeria Insurance Sector in a Shifting Landscape”, by Mr Barineka Thomas and “2017-2022 Performance of the Nigerian Insurance Market: Facts Behind the Figures”, by Dr Umar Baba. Both Speakers are from NAICOM.
