Kindly leave a comment and share
Chuks Udo Okonta
The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) is evolving guidelines that would help ensure all Federal Government’s assets are insured, a development that would enhance profitability for the insurance sector.
The Deputy Commissioner, Technical, NAICOM, Sabiu Abubakar, said this today at the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN), Second Edition of 2022 Business Outlook Seminar, in Lagos, adding that the guidelines, which is being developed in partnership with the Ministry of Finance, would be unveiled very soon.
He submitted that the guidelines would help remove the ills perpetuated by Federal Government’s Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and insurance operators.
He noted that the guidelines would also adequately appropriate sanctions on defaulters.
Abubakar noted that the guidelines only cover federal government assets, adding that NAICOM is working to get state governments domesticate insurance laws, which would enable the industry provide adequate insurance covers for assets in the states.
He submitted that NAICOM has strengthened its regulatory oversight and implored operators to settle genuine claims reasonable time and discharge their obligations.
Abubakar noted that insurance regulation and supervision are always the bedrock of national economic development, stressing that he believed NAICOM’s reforms and regulatory initiatives will positively impact the insurance industry if achieved and that the Industry will witness tremendous development and growth.
He implored insurance practitioners to remain complaints and support the commission’s efforts in developing the sector.
President of CIIN, Edwin Igbiti, noted that the Business Outlook Seminar is a forum where key players in the insurance industry as well as the finance sub-sector of the economy converge to review the business environment in the country for the immediate past year and strategise on the way forward for the insurance industry in the new year.
He maintained that the programme among other things, examines the national budget, reviews the thrusts of the fiscal and monetary policies of the government and estimate how these would influence the insurance industry in particular and the economy in general.
According to him, the first session of the seminar was held on Wednesday, February 23, 2022 where notable speakers analysed the 2022 national budget as it relates to the Insurance industry and how the industry can reposition itself.
The objective of the second part of the programme, he said was to review what have been achieved from the first, where the operators currently are and to proffer recommendations for the rest of the year for the profitability of the industry.
He said the theme for this year’s Business Outlook remains: “Economic Policies of the Government in 2022: Challenges, Issues and Prospects”.
Igbiti expressed optimistic that the second edition will be very insightful considering the challenges bedeviling the country such as; insecurity, high inflation rate, debts, oil subsidy as well as trending matters like the the upcoming elections; adding that even though there was a positive projection of the global industry at the beginning of the year, these issues will surely have its effect on the insurance industry and the economy in general.
He submitted that the event was a great avenue for practitioners to discuss and have foresight on how to effectively manage their various businesses in the industry amidst threats.
