Efekoha
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Chuks Udo Okonta
For insurers across West Africa to achieve regional integration, individual countries regulatory structures should be strengthened through total autonomy; deliberate efforts to foster relationship within the sub region financial sector amongst other things.
The Chairman, Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA), Eddie Efekoha, disclosed this at the just concluded 2017 annual insurance conference of the West Africa Insurance Companies Association (WAICA) in Banjul Gambia.
According to him, there is also need for financial independence of the regulatory system in each of the countries within the sub region; countries regulatory institution should build the needed human capacity for effective market surveillance, trade associations must be strengthen to play a collaborative role in the harmonisation process and an in-depth understanding of the unique business process of each member states.
He also identified the need for technical capacity requirement amongst member states be standardised; a phased approach to harmonisation, desirable; building on the ECOWAS Brown Card System; borrowing a leave from the francophone countries, already have an harmonized regulatory framework and need to build African market for African.
Efekoha noted that insurance regulation in West Africa sub region is largely compliance based in which ‘one cap fits all’ approach predominates, adding that the level of collaboration between the operators and the regulator is less than satisfactory thus breeding suspicion.
He also pointed that the human capacity available in most of the regulatory institutions is less than required for effective supervisory oversight and that the current trans border operations by underwriting companies require that a full license be procured, adding that there are no formal relationship between the trade associations in the sub region.
He lauded the evolving relationship between regulators in the sub region with the establishment of WAISA, while calling for reduction of the region premium flight and need to have a insurance framework to support regional business transactions.
