ADDRESS BY LADY ISIOMA CHUKWUMA. PRESIDENT/CHAIRMAN OF COUNCIL, CHARTERED INSURANCE INSTITUTE OF NIGERIA {CIIN) DURING THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE INSTITUTE’S 2016 BUSINESS OUTLOOK SEMINAR ON TUESDAY 23RD FEBRUARY, 2016 AT THE LAGOS ORIENTAL HOTEL, LEKKI ROAD, VICTORIA ISLAND, LAGOS.
It is my delight to welcome professional colleagues and distinguished insurance practitioners to the annual Business Outlook Seminar. The seminar has been successfully run for a period of six consecutive years, making it a veritable platform for achieving the dual purposes of reviewing the performance of the previous business year and periscoping the prospects and challenges of the current and unfolding year.
The 2016 seminar is focusing attention on the national budget with emphasis on the fiscal and monetary policy thrusts of the Federal Government and how these would impact on business during the year. The seminar will also highlight the challenges facing the economic policies of the government in 2016, including:
– Matching the fast growing population of the country, presently estimated at 170 million, with economic empowerment and poverty alleviation through employment creation.
– Stimulating economic growth through the provision of improved infrastructures, stable power supply and efficient public utilities.
– Reducing overdependence of the National Budget on oil revenue by revamping the real sector including agricultural and solid mineral sectors; and
– Encouraging increased flow of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the country to tap into the abundant natural and human resources by providing an enabling environment with emphasis on internal security.
It is therefore expected that deliberations today, which should be largely interactive would explore the efficacy of the 2016 National Budget in addressing these challenges.
Distinguished professional colleagues, the insurance sub-sector of the national economy has become increasingly central in the scheme of things because of the pervading nature of risk. As a risk bearing industry, the insurance industry should be more concerned about the economic situation in the country especially given the fact that the onslaught of negative economic trend may largely compromise risk management funding decisions which will portend negative consequences for the industry. It is against this background that the 2016 budget of the Federal Government of Nigeria tagged “BUDGET OF CHANGE” is presented as the focal point of the Business Outlook .
The seminar also aims at examining the followings:
– Appraisal of the performance of the insurance industry in 2015
– How the Insurance sector could key into the budget.
– What aspects of the budget would provide maximum benefit and growth for the insurance industry.
– The strategies to harness the seemingly huge potentials contained in the 2016 budget.
– The structure/manpower to be deployed in order to properly position the industry for the task ahead.
– Debt Financing provision of N2.2trillion in the N6.08 trillion budget – its effect on the overall development of the economy.
These topics will be addressed by a team of renowned economists and budget/financial analysts.
May I at this juncture, on behalf of the Governing Council and the entire membership of the Institute, express our appreciation to our faculties – Mr. Opeyemi Agbaje. Senior Consultant/CEO of Resources and Trust Company Limited. Mr. Kola Ayeye, Executive Director, Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) and our own Mr. George Onakhena, Deputy Commissioner, Finance and Administration, National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) for accepting our invitation.
The worsening incidents of terrorism, kidnapping as well as the telling effects of climate change on lives and property are throwing up new challenges for the insurance industry.
I am aware of the isolated efforts of key players in our sector in addressing these emerging risks by organizing special seminars on terrorism insurance. We however should go beyond these isolated efforts and forge stronger bonds as an industry in tackling these new challenges. For instance, for how long are we going to exclude terrorism from our insurance contracts whereas the threats are now of increasing magnitude? No doubt the major constraint in this regard has been the paucity of underwriting data, so it remains a cause for concern and must be addressed without further delay. The possible approach as some
of us are aware, is to partner with other international underwriters who are sufficiently familiar with and much more experienced in these areas.
The Governing Council of the Institute remains poised at providing platforms such as this for knowledge sharing and will continue to sharpen the skills of practitioners through quality educational/training opportunities. The Council is also expanding the frontiers of Insurance Education by supporting the teaching and learning of insurance as a course of study in both secondary and tertiary institutions in the country.
The Institute has over the years sustained its pact with the Lagos Business School for the Annual LBS/CIIN Collaborative Seminar the next edition of which is slated for Thursday, 17th March, 2016.
In ending this address, it is pertinent to reiterate the need for all hands to be on deck in ensuring that the industry human capital continues to be sharpened and updated in order to face current and emerging challenges. This we can achieve by ensuring mass attendance of programmes such as this. The situation whereby members shun useful opportunities at updating their knowledge cannot augur well for the growth and development of this industry. Continuous professional development is not only important for its point-scoring role but as a vehicle for professionals to continually update their knowledge and skills in order to remain relevant in the scheme of things.
Once again, I welcome you to the 2016 Business Outlook Seminar and wish you fruitful and successful deliberations.
Thank you for your attention.
LADY ISIOMA CHUKWUMA
PRESIDENT/CHAIRMAN OF COUNCIL
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