There is need for a vibrant, well-capitalised and deep insurance sector for the economy, Chairman, Heirs Holdings and United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA), Tony Elumelu, has said.

He stated this in his keynote address at the Colloquium of the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) in Lagos.

Not least in these testing times, he said Nigerians need financial security, secure savings and protection against uncertainty.

Elumelu emphasised that the industry needs to offer simple, smart products, that give value and deliver. “We need an industry that is professional and can catalyse investment in key sectors such as power, infrastructure and housing,” he said.

He stated there was no room for complacency, with the sector needing to regain trust, stamp down on malpractice and fundamentally evolve its customer proposition to deepen the insurance penetration.

He said: “Our two insurance companies, Heirs Life Assurance and Heirs Insurance Limited, are leading democratisation of access to insurance – which is a tool for financial inclusion, employment creation, poverty eradication and female advancement.

“In a country of 200 million people, we can, should and must be more relevant than we are today. I am an optimist, not a pessimist. I know that times are tough, but together we can, and we will transform our industry, create value, and provide solutions that demonstrate the value of insurance to our people.”

Reiterating Elumelu’s stance, Mr. Sunday Thomas, Commissioner for Insurance, called for more collaboration in enabling access to insurance, stating that the industry could do more in this prospect.

He said: “It is a fundamental truth that the insurance sector exists for other sectors to thrive.  A lot has been achieved, but there is still more work to be done. Until insurance becomes the oxygen that homes and other industries breathe, and a subject that is known to everyone, we have not arrived.”

NCRIB President, Mr. Rotimi Edu  said brokers, who constitute the professional arm of the insurance industry, have a great role to play in causing the desired change in the industry.

He said: “Aside from constituting a preponderant chunk of the industry’s manpower, professionally, Insurance Brokers, are the closest to the insuring public whose actitivities could not be undermined in the value chain. This position of the Broker confers on him the responsibility to always get the best for his client and be continually creative in terms of products development.

“On the part of the Council, it is most heart-warming that we have continued to braze to the challenges being faced by our members for the collective good of the industry. Aside from seeing to it that our membership remains cohesive, informed and dynamic, we have put in place strategies to edge out charlatans from our midst.’’

Stakeholders in the insurance industry have called on the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) to probe and prosecute the board and management of the defunct Niger Insurance or Standard Alliance Insurance Plc.

NAICOM revoked certificates of registration of both firms on June 21, this year for unethical conduct.

An insurer and senior executive, who spoke under condition of anonymity, said there must be proper investigation of past management of the failed companies.

He said the firms could have went down because of mismanagement.

He said: “For it not to continue to happen, NAICOM should investigate deeply a forensic investigation to find out where things started to go wrong. If this can happen to Niger Insurance, which was the third or second largest insurance company in Nigeria just two decades ago and is down to zero, then there is a whole lot wrong with the board.

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“There must be a forensic audit by NAICOM to ensure this does not happen to other insurance companies. The regulator have a stronger role to play to ensure that these companies are well-supervised and guided so that they don’t fail.”

Another company’s Chief Executive Officer said it was clear that a lot was wrong with Niger and Standard Alliance more than five years ago.

“NAICOM should not wait and allow companies get so bad before the wield the big stick.

“When a new managing director of a company does not perform in one or two years, up to five years, it is a sign of failure. NAICOM should just ask the owner to change their management. Just like what happens in the banking sector, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) does not wait for a bank to go completely bankrupt before they step in.

“I believe that NAICOM has a lot to do on supervision and they must investigate these two companies to know where they fail so that these would not cause a cancer in the industry,” he warned.

The Nigerian Export Promotion Council, (NEPC), in partnership with Centre for the Promotion of Imports from Developing Countries (CBI), an agency of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Netherlands, on value chain development, is working on consolidating the prospects, potential and opportunities of the shea sector in Nigeria for export growth.

The Executive Director/ Chief Executive Officer, Nigeria Export Promotion Council Ezra Yakusak, said the project would focus on critical stakeholders as this intervention would contribute to making a paradigm shift from the export of raw unprocessed sheanuts to  higher value-added products.

Yakusak stated this at the  conference and  launch of shea export development programme in Abuja.

He said the shea project was in line with the government  diversification agenda for non-oil export development.

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He noted that the aspiration is to position shea products in the enormous global market, which is driven by important factors such as, rising consumer awareness,  increasing demand for natural and organic cosmetics without preservatives and chemicals.

Yakusak added that the council had put up a response to ensuring that stakeholders benefit from demand for sustainable environment-friendly and healthy products, through one of its flagship project “Go Global, Go for Certification”, facilitated Nigerian brands to secure organic, fair-trade and other certifications.

“I must tell you that though this is resource intensive, the Council’s belief in ‘Export-for-Survival’ has kept it committed to this course,” he said.

Foreign insurance influx has continued in the insurance sector with Sanlam, Africa’s largest non-banking financial services company, buying over FBNInsurance from FirstBank Holdings.

FirstBank Holdings has sold off its 70 per cent stake in FBNInsurance to Sanlam, which uses to have 30 per cent stake in the company, giving it ownership by 100 per cent.

Consequently, FBNInsurance is now Sanlam Life Insurance Nigeria Limited while the general arm of businesses is Sanlam General Insurance Nigeria Limited, respectively.

Sanlam Pan Africa (SPA) Life Insurance Cluster CEO, Robert Dommisse while announcing the launch of the new name during a ceremony at Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos said Sanlam’s is committed to Nigeria, and that the West African market is important to Sanlam.

He stated that Nigeria has been one of the most important markets for the Sanlam Group because the country is such a key economy on the African continent.

He said: “It has always been imperative that Sanlam has a strong presence and operation in Nigeria. We have a good business in the Nigerian market, and we are going to continue invest and grow the operation…”

It is important for us that we do so under the Sanlam brand so that the existing and potential customers know that they will be getting the full support of the promises we make in the market.

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Sanlam Life Insurance Nigeria Limited Mr Tunde Mimiko said, “We look forward to the next exciting chapter of the business under the banner of the Sanlam brand which is committed to continuously promoting consumer access and inclusion in financial services across the African continent”, he stated.

Insurance stakeholders drawn from the private sector and the academia have advised Nigerians, including business owners, to subscribe to Takaful insurance as it remains the only ethical insurance that offers enormous benefits to all members of society.

This was the submission echoed at the Takaful workshop organized by Noor Takaful Insurance Limited on Wednesday, September 27, 2022, in Ibadan, Oyo State.

The event themed: “Takaful: The Next Frontier For Insurance”, featured a panel session involving scholars, businessmen, religious leaders, as well practitioners in the industry, some of which include the Chief Imam of Oluyole Central Mosque, Alhaji Mudasir Bada, Chairman, Oyo State Muslim Community, Alhaji Kunle Sanni, Chairman, Vanguard Pharmacy Limited, Alhaji Taofiq Odukoya, Rector, College of Insurance and Financial Management (CIFM), Dr Yeside Abiodun Oyetayo and Chief Operating Officer, Citiserve Limited, Dr Jubril Salaudeen who moderated the session.

Delivering his welcome remarks, the Chairman, Noor Takaful Insurance Limited, Mr Muhtar Bakare, noted that the workshop was organized to deliberate on the role Takaful Insurance can play in managing the increasing level of uncertainties in the world by providing support when necessary and promoting collaboration and equity for the people.

He explained further that the Takaful model, which operates on the Sharia principles of empathy and fairness, offers an affordable window of inclusion to millions of Nigerians who have hitherto been excluded from the formal financial sectors of the economy.

“The Alternative Finance sector of which Takaful Insurance is a major sub-sector, presents credible routes to stability through alternative models of economic management and alternative models of delivery of financial services to create more sustainable, more equitable and more inclusive growth”, he said.

In his keynote remarks, the Chairman, Oyo State Muslim Community, Alhaji Kunle Sanni, represented by Barrister Rasheed Attah, explained that the Takaful model remains the best insurance option for Nigerians as it is guided and regulated by ethics, equity and fairness as well as being regulated by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM).

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Also speaking, the Vice-Chairman, Noor Takaful Insurance Limited, Mr Aminu Tukur, stated that the company is excited to bring Takaful insurance to Ibadan, saying that it would continue to drive massive awareness for Takaful to the extent that it becomes widely acceptable among Nigerians including non-Muslims.

Tukur stated that the workshop has further helped deepen Nigerians’ understanding of what they stand to benefit from by subscribing to this kind of insurance.

Speaking during the panel session, the Rector of CIFM, Dr Yeside Oyetayo, who attributed the challenges facing the insurance sector in Nigeria to include awareness and trust, disclosed that Takaful remains the alternative option for addressing such concerns given the ethics guiding its operations.

While commending Noor Takaful for their outstanding contribution to advancing the cause of ethical insurance in Nigeria, she urged the company to give priority attention to designing products for women as this would help a great deal in driving financial inclusion.

“Statistics have shown that 67.8% of women in Oyo State are financially excluded. This is quite alarming because Ibadan women are known to be enterprising. I think Noor Takaful need to have insurance provided for women. In doing this, you need to do market research to find out what they truly need rather than coming up with generic products”, she said.

In his submission, Bada stressed the need for the company to ensure that the spirit of honesty and accountability which guided its operation remains upheld and imbibed as norms among the workforce.

On his part, Odukoya, who shared his experience patronizing Noor Takaful in the last two years, declared that the company had demonstrated a high level of transparency and professionalism in its dealings.

According to him, the company has raised the bar in the insurance market in Nigeria with the value and respect it has shown to its esteemed customers.

“I will recommend them to those that own businesses because they are transparent and professional in what they do”, he said.

Also speaking, Managing Director, Noor Takaful Insurance Limited, Rilwan Sunmonu, while dismissing the notion that Takaful was only available for Muslims, noted that its recent record revealed that over 35% of participants on board are non-Muslims.

He explained that though the industry is still confronted with trust challenges, the company remains committed to changing the narrative by ensuring it keeps to its promise.

FBNInsurance Limited has embarked on a new drive with the appointment of a new Managing Director (MD), Tunde Mimiko.

The life insurance company plans to deploy additional 2,000 agents to drive retail business and enhance profitability.

The new MD spoke at a media parley on his vision at the company’s branch  on Victoria Island, Lagos.

He said the firm has over 3,000 insurance agents driving its business at the grassroots.

He stated that the company intends to redefine insurance, especially, through retail, hence, its planning to grow its insurance agents to 5,000 before year end.

He maintained that, having more agents who would be selling insurance products and services across the country would enhance insurance penetration and awareness, adding that the company would use technology to capture the millennia onto its platform.

Mimiko further said the firm has about 400,000 policyholders, promising that FBNInsurance intends to grow this number to one million within the next one year and become the number one insurance company in the country in terms customer volume and profitability.

“With low insurance penetration in the country,” Mimiko said, FBNInsurance would be instrumental to increase penetration, taking insurance to grassroots while we improve our customers experience through technology”.

Leading organisations such as Microsoft Nigeria, Ecobank, Old Mutual, and AXA Mansard have confirmed their participation in the Insurance Meets Tech (IMT) Conference, scheduled for September 29,this year at Ecobank’s pan-African Centre, Ozumba Mbadiwe, Lagos.

The Commissioner for Insurance, National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Mr. Sunday Thomas, has said the new policies to chief executive officers of insurance firms are working, The Nation has learnt.

The commissioner made this known on the sidelines of a meeting organised by the Chartered Insurance Institute of Insurance (CIIN) for professionals in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

The new areas and developments include adoption and implementation of risk-based supervision (RBS) and risk-based capital (RBC); 10-year development strategic plan; full digitisation of the insurance sector; and claims payment.

The commissioner said the adoption and implementation of risk-based supervision had reached appreciable level in the market, adding that the support from operators had been encouraging.

The commission, he said, is working with FSD Africa on this and  that soon, the framework would be unveiled.

On the market 10-year development strategic plan, he said: “We need it not just for now, but for the future; a document that successive leaders of every arm of the sector could leverage and ride on. I urge the NIA and NCRIB to expedite action on the constitution of the Committee to work on this and will expect a report at the next Insurers Committee.

“On full digitisation of the insurance sector, it seems some companies do not want to go digital, but they are in the minority. We will ensure that any company that is operating in this market go digital otherwise, they should look at other sectors to play in. We will not allow such companies to operate in the insurance sector anymore because we must adopt technology to enable optimal growth.

“On claims payment, we need a high level of integrity in this market by paying serious attention to the issue of claims payment. We are not unmindful of the fact that there has been some considerable improvement in the payment of claims by operators in the last few years, but you really need to do a lot more in this area.

“You cannot fail to settle a claim you have already accepted and issued a discharge voucher; you certainly will have no excuse for such behaviour. The commission frowns at it and will continue to take appropriate steps in line with laws in ensuring that this sort of behaviour is curbed in the market.’’

The Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) is partnering the Lagos State Government to promote insurance in its secondary schools.

The Council stated this when its delegation visited the Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Folashade Adefisayo in Alausa, Ikeja.

The Deputy President of the Council, Mr. Babatunde Oguntade, regretted the slow acceptance of insurance in secondary schools and noted that the brokers body craved the support of the Ministry to change the narrative.

Oguntade, who is also the Chairman of the Research and Development Committee of the Council, said against the belief about insurance, the profession was one that accommodated diverse people from varied educational backgrounds, which ultimately, provides basis for the richness of the profession

He lauded the government for its  enthusiasm to support the move by the Council to synergise efforts with the state government in fashioning a robust curriculum for insurance education that would stimulate the interest of secondary school students

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The state Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Folashade Adefisayo, rued the poor acceptance of insurance in the society despite its potential.

She said providers of insurance needed to be more proactive in stimulating the interest of the youth in insurance.

Mrs Adefisayo said the comprehensive school project of the government should be utilised by the Council and the insurance industry to provide hands-on training for students of the peculiar schools towards making them self-reliant as against obsession for certificate.

She advised the industry on the need to rethink and re-engineer as a way of making insurance a favourable option for youths.

Leadway Assurance has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Federal Civil Service Staff of Nigeria Cooperative Society Union (FedCoop) to provide over 300,000 civil servants insurance coverage.

The MoU covers Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) in Nigeria, with over 150 registered cooperative societies and over 300,000 members drawn from the 36 states.

The plan covers Group Life Assurance, Personal Accident Plan, and Group Deposit Administration, which guarantee the policyholders or beneficiaries the required compensation in the case of accidents, permanent disability, or death, all at an affordable premium.

Executive Head, Sales, Leadway Assurance, Mr. Olusola Ajayi, said the plan is a major landmark in entrenching the culture of insurance in Nigeria to deepen insurance intake in the country.

“I am particularly proud about this partnership as it shows we are on the right track towards a positive attitude towards insurance. As we are aware, most people in Nigeria, including the educated, do not appreciate the essence of insurance, despite its numerous benefits, and that is why it is heart-warming to get thto get the buy-in of Africa’s largest Civil Service into this all-too-important financial management too,’’ he said.