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Chuks Udo Okonta
As the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) settles down for year 2025 regulations, one area that the public is anxiously waiting to see actions is in prompt payment of claims, of which the Commission gave insurance companies December 31, 2024 deadline to clear all outstanding claims.
Commissioner for Insurance/ Chief Executive Officer of NAICOM Olusegun Omosehin, at the last Insurers’ Committee meeting for year 2024, which held in Lagos, charged insurance executives to ensure no outstanding claims is captured in their 2024 financial accounts and that they should defend the insurance industry through payment of genuine claims.
As the deadline issued by NAICOM to insurance firms has elapsed, the public expects the regulator to move in and examine the books of insurers to ascertain the level of compliance.
Companies that failed to comply should be sanctioned and asked to publish all outstanding claims in their books.
Though some operators have raised the issue of cyber security as to reasons they wouldn’t publish the outstanding claims, but publishing it would really help policyholders and prospective policyholders to know the level of attention giving to claims payments by insurers.
Why outstanding claims should be published.n
*Public good.
The publications of outstanding claims by insurance firm would bring about public good, as it would enable the public understand the volume of unpaid claims by companies, a step that would assist them in making their insurance investment choices.
*Prompting claimants
Many claimants have abandoned the pursuit of their claims, owing to either inability to file some documents or busy nature of their jobs. The publications of the claims would prompt them and spur them to return to the pursuit of the claims.
*Unearthing dead claims
A story was told of how a beneficiary discovered his deceased father’s claims in a publication.
The incidence which happened in AIICO Insurance Plc, of which Inspenonline learnt that the company which then had a policy of publishing unclaimed claims, published the name of a dead policyholder, which was brought to the attention of the children, who approach the company and were advised on what to do for them to access the claims, of which they did and were able to get the claims.
The publications of outstanding claims could help families that are not aware of their parents claims with insurance companies.
*Check on insurance companies
The publications of outstanding claims would help check claims payment abuses by most insurance companies.
When the public begins to shun companies with large unpaid claims, others would embrace prompt claims payment.
*Health status
The publications of outstanding claims would reveal the health status of the industry. Low unpaid claims ratio, would show that the industry is strong and capable to pay more claims, but high unpaid claims ratio is an indicator that the industry is financially challenged.
Transparency is a major component for business growth, hence the publications of outstanding claims would expose the industry to the public, leaving them to make their right choices.
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