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An actuary has said the most impactful period for the insurance industry to show friendliness is at the time of a claim when the customer is in stress and in grief, facing a loss situation.
The former Ekiti State Young Progressive Party Guber candidate/Consulting Actuary, Prince Debo Ajayi, said this while speaking on a topic: ‘Making Insurance Friendly in Nigeria’ at the investiture of the 13th President of Institute of Loss Adjusters of Nigeria (ILAN) Diipo Olanrewaju in Lagos.
He specifically implored loss adjusters to esteem friendliness, stressing that they are at the center of claims review, investigation and processing.
He submitted that typically, they are the ones that establish if indeed the insurer is liable for a claim,
estimate the magnitude and timing of such liability, and they determine if there are
3rd parties to contribute towards meeting the liability.
“The most impactful time for the insurance industry to show friendliness is at the time of a claim when the customer is in stress and in grief, facing a loss situation. Therefore, loss adjusters are very critical to improving the friendliness of the insurance industry,” he posited.
He noted the loss adjusters are the back-end customer service representatives of
the industry at the time in customer engagement when the industry is being tested
on dependability, trustworthiness, credibility and all the other elements of
friendliness.
According to him loss adjusters are critical to the financial viability of insurance operations –they must determine liability irrespective of adequacy of premiums charged or financial solvency of the insurer.
The capacity of loss adjusters to discharge their responsibilities and deliver on
customer expectations is critical, he submitted, adding that they must be trained properly both in technical and soft skills and be equipped properly to investigate, document, report on claims under review.
He maintained that as image makers of the industry, it is key to apply industry best-practice standards and eliminate unlicensed, unregistered loss adjusters to maintain positive reputation and inspire consumer confidence.
He also advocated that loss adjusters must be properly remunerated and incentivized to provide professional service and customer focus, without conflict of interest.
According to the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) the insurance industry paid N318.2 billion claims in year 2022.
NAICOM noted that the claims represented a 31.2 per cent QoQ growth, stressing that it was achieved as a result of growing awareness and market expansion as well as consumer’s confidence.
“In a similar pattern, the net claims paid were reported at N244.3 billion, growing at 17.9 per cent QoQ during the same period,” it posited.
NAICOM said insights into the Non-life segment showed that Motor Insurance led with regards to claims settlement vis a vis gross claims reported at 92.3 per cent signifying a nine points improvement as against its prior position and that fire insurance was the least at 46.3 per cent and the only class below average proportion.
It maintained that all other portfolios of general accident insurance – 80.7 per cent; Oil & Gas, 51.6 per cent; marine & aviation, 74.4 per cent; miscellaneous insurances, 86.1 per cent recorded a proportion above the average, of paid claims against gross claims reported.
The regulator said life insurance business on the other hand reported two points less in comparison to the position held in the prior period of 94.6 per cent of net claims paid compared to total claims reported during the same period of 2021
