Insurance

ARIAN blames CIIN for huge number of unregistered agents

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Gbadebo and Faruna Monday of NAICOM at the event

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Chuks Udo Okonta

The Association of Registered Insurance Agents of Nigeria (ARIAN) has alleged that the proficiency test organised by the Chartered Insurance Insurance of Nigeria (CIIN) as apart of the criteria for an agent to be licensed, has been a bottle neck for increasing the number of National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) licensed agents.

The President of ARIAN Olamerun Gbadebo, disclosed this at the association’s 2015 conference in Lagos, stressing that it is extremely very disturbing that several deliberations, meetings, courtesy visits on the the subject matter to the management and council of the CIIN has proved abortive.

He noted that the association has consulted wide and large with relevant stakeholders on the next line of actions, because it seems like deliberations and round table discussions would not provide the required result.

“This singular act has increased the number of unregistered NAICOM insurance agent,” he said.

Gbadebo said in two years of his reign, the association has grown its membership from 2,810 to 5713, stressing that the association is working assiduously to raise its membership to 20,000 by 2020.

Reacting to the allegation, the Director-General of CIIN Kola Ahmed, urged the agents to clearly state where they are challenged, adding that the only area they are presently working to fine-tune is on the proficiency fee paid by agents.

He said the fee charged presently is N12,500 per an agent and that the agents have been admonished to mobilized more of their members so as to bring down the fee.

He said if the agents can mobilize up to 1000 of their members for a session, the fee can be reduced to N5,000, stressing that they can never get a better deal when they mobilize less than 100 of their members for the training.

He said the training of agents has been ceded to the Centre for Insurance and Financial Management Studies (CIFMS) and that the institute only signs certificated of trained professionals while the centre runs the training.

He said another issue observed by the Centre is that some agents want the certificate without completing the training, stressing that the Centre has been strict in the administration of the certificates as no body would be allowed to possess the certificate without undergoing the full training.

Efforts to get response of the Rector, Centre for Insurance and Financial Management Studies (CIFMS) failed as she did not pick the call put through to her and reply the text message sent.

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