From left: Past President, Institute of Loss Adjusters of Nigeria, Alhaji Femi Hassan and Registrar, Femi Tayo at the event.
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Chuks Udo Okonta
Institute of Loss Adjusters of Nigeria (ILAN) has appointed Reginald Egbuniwe as its President.
Egbuniwe became the president at the institute’s 37th Annual General Meeting (AGM) last week in Lagos.
The AGM also served as an avenue for the past President of the institute, Femi Hassan to present his scorecards having steered the affairs of the institute for two years.
According to him, his tenure was eventful as many great strides were recorded. He noted that during his tenure, ILAN was able to secure the confidence of the regulator which led to a training on oil and gas claims and loss adjusting training program which NAICOM organised for members. He added that the cost of the capacity building program which involved international facilitators and resource persons was borne by the Commission.
“I believe our members benefitted immensely from the workshop. On our part, we decided to consolidate on the gains and mandated the Committee on Education to explore opportunities to build on the experience. We have consequently signed an MOU with the Centre For Petroleum, Energy Economics & Law (CPEEL) of University of Ibadan in respect of courses that will enhance the knowledge of our members in the high-tech area of Oil and Gas claims and survey.
“Recently, NAICOM eventually acceded to our yearning to increase the tenure of operating licences issued to loss adjusters to two years. This is seen as a positive development that should stabilize the loss adjusting sector of the insurance industry,” he stated.
Hassan said the institute also sought the assistance of members of the NCRIB in reducing the long list of coinsurers in some account with some insurance companies holding as low as 0.5 per cent share with attendant difficulty being experienced in recovering loss adjusters’ fees “and expenses incurred in course of the claim process; either because of the resultant small amount involved or the long list of coinsurers with majority of them in doubtful financials which has accumulated into huge unpaid debts over the years. In response, the then President of NCRIB, Sola Tinubu promised to convey our prayers to the larger body of insurance brokers with request for their cooperation in reducing the challenges so posed to the fortune of the adjusters,” he added.
He posited that his team also met with members of the NIA Governing Council led by their Chairman, Tope Smart on 28th March, 2019, adding that matters of mutual interests were discussed and it afforded both parties the opportunity to highlight areas of dissatisfaction, with pledges to address observed shortcomings.
“The immediate fallout of the meeting was an invitation to ILAN to be part of the organizing committee for Year 2020 African Insurance Organizations Conference (AIO) which will be held in Nigeria. We have since nominated two of our Council members, Pastor Ike Udobi and Mr. M. A. L. Akinwunmi to represent ILAN as members of the Conference Organizing Committee,” he said.
Hassan said his team also met the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), adding that the visit afforded an opportunity to increase ILAN visibility and facilitate positive interaction with representatives of the manufacturing sector who more often than not are recipients of our services.
Also visited was the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), which according to him helped created improved relationship with members of the organised private sector and also helped to create awareness and understanding of the role of Loss Adjusters in the process of claims management.
He maintained that two books which ILAN will be contributing towards CIIN examinations for would-be Loss Adjusters, are due for submission to council this month, stressing that the books would be passed to the CIIN for further action. “It is my hope that the two course books will be available to students in the October diet of the CIIN examinations in 2020,” he added.
