The Nation Newspaper

Category: Insurance

  • RISAN holds conference on disaster management

    Risk Surveyors Association of Nigeria (RISAN) will hold its national conference next month, in Lagos.

    Entitled: Human element in disaster management and loss prevention, the conference, the President of the association, Jacob Adeosun, said in a statement, will address the challenges of disaster management and proffer solutions to mitigate the occurrence of losses on roads as well as in commerce and industry resulting from industrial fires and allied perils.

    Adeosun said the conference will focus on the impact of human element in disaster management at this year’s parley given the central position which human beings play in managing the challenges of risks.

    Expected at the event are Mr Fola Daniel, Commissioner for Insurance (NAICOM); Dr Remi Olowude, Chairman, Nigeria Insurers Association (NIA), Dr Wole Adetimehin, President, Chatered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN) and Mrs Laide Osijo, President, Nigerian Corporation of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB), among others.

    The conference will climax with the investiture of Adeosun as the President of the association.

  • Agency challenges insurers on customers’research

    Insurers do not spend enough time and money on research on customers’ needs and services, a report has said.

    The report by GIZ, a German agency for sustainable development working in partnership with Riskguard-Africa Nigeria Limited, observed that the microfinance account underwriting is not attractive to underwriters not because of high cost or of the small size of the premium, but because insurers are not selling solutions.

    Director-General, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN), Adegboyega Adepegba, said the institute has risen to the challenge of low level of research in the industry by establishing a college of insurance that will help enhance the level of research on how to foster growth in the industry.

    He said: “You cannot do research in insurance in isolation, research would have to look at the micro and macro economy. You have to look at insurance itself, look at the economy within which it is operates. To have any meaningful research, it has to be all embracing. And maybe it has to start from conducting research on products and the need of the industry.

    “You really need to know what the skill gaps are before you can think of putting in place proper training programme. For instance, in the oil and gas, there is a gap; that is the skill required to do that job effectively, which may not be adequate for now and in the next few months the institute is going to do something to bridge that gap, there are so many other areas.”

  • Travel insurance: How motorists’ rip off commuters

    Travel insurance: How motorists’ rip off commuters

    Most premiums paid by commuters are not remitted by motorists to underwriting firms, The Nation has gathered.

    Investigation revealed that most commuters are ignorant of the fact that insurance premium is fused into the travel fares they pay at inter-city motor terminals, hence, they are swindled by motorists.

    Commuters are expected to fill travel manifest, which is backed with a premium recharge card motorists are required to buy from insurance firms. But, often times, most motorists make commuters to fill manifest without procuring the cards.

    At a major bus terminal, this reporter was offered a manifest without a card to fill; this led him to enquire about the premium card. He was told by one of the motorists that they often fail to buy the card to save cost. The motorist noted that having settled the park dues and fuel, they are left with little margin.

    He noted that one of the ways to enhance their revenue is to avoid the purchase of the cards which amount is incorporated into the fare.

    Most commuters interviewed claimed they were not aware that premium cost is fused into the fare they pay to the motorists. To them, the manifest is to trace their contact in case of mishap.

    An underwriter with one of the companies selling such products said the company did not engage in monitoring the activities of motorists. He said the company only pays claims to individuals with genuine claims, adding that before a claim is paid, there must be an evidence of payment of premium which is done through the purchase of the cards.

    He noted that motorists who do not pay their premium subject commuters to risks, as they would not be entitled to any claims in the event of any mishap.

    He urged commuters to ensure that motorists they patronise have adequate insurance cover which can be ascertained by ensuring that a premium card is attached to the manifest they are asked to fill before embarking on a journey.

     

  • Brokers to partner agents on micro insurance

    Insurance brokers initially opposed to the revival of the agency system introduced by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) are ready to work with the agents.

    A source, who asked not to be named, said brokers were working out ways to partner agents to harness the enormous micro-insurance opportunities at the grassroots.

    NAICOM introduced the agency system to expand the insurance market and to bring its services and benefits nearer to a greater percentage of the population.

    A source at the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) said some brokers were looking at how they could partner, or synergise with some agents. He added that the brokers were looking at how they ccould integrate the agents under their brand to reach the grassroots.

    Worried by the untapped micro-insurance opportunities, put at over N60 billion, NAICOM said it was working on a draft guideline for the entrenchment and development of the business.

    Commissioner for Insurance Fola Daniel said the draft guideline on micro-insurance was being exposed to the industry, experts and other stakeholders for their input and contributions. He said, thereafter, the final draft would be drawn and released to the market.

    He said the commission intended to collaborate with other regulatory agencies in achieving the plan.

    He said: “To underscore our commitment to the development of micro-insurance, the commission has conducted a nationwide diagnostic study on micro-insurance in collaboration with GIZ, a German agency for sustainable development, Access to Insurance Initiative (AII) and local consultants.

    “We have also put in place a draft guideline for micro-insurance business. The draft is being exposed to the industry, experts and other stakeholders for their inputs and contributions before the final draft will be drawn and subsequently released to the market,” he said.

    Daniel noted that the initiative is part of the commission’s drive to open up and develop the insurance market at the grassroots, and, by extension, increase the sector’s contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

     

  • NCRIB admits 32

    The Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) has inducted 32 brokers into its fold, buoying its membership to 492.

    Its President, Mrs Laide Osijo, urged the new intakes to brace for the unfolding global and regulatory challenges confronting professionals in the finacial services sector.

    Mrs Osijo urged them to ensure that they operate within laid-down ethical and professional standards prescribed by the council, as well as other regulatory bodies to which they subscribe.

    “You are coming in at a time when insurance business and operators in Nigeria are being challenged by several factors, notably, public image and global regulatory prescriptions. You must strive to play above board.”

    She commiserated with families who lost their loved ones and valuables in the flood ravaging some parts of the country.

    She advised the government to evolve concerted and proactive disaster management strategies aimed at combating similar calamities in the future, as well as educating Nigerians on the need to avoid building their residences in flood-prone areas. She stressed the need for them to eschew habits that could make the society vulnerable to such disasters.

    Mrs Osijo said the industry could bring succour and mitigate losses that may result from such calamities, both at the individual and government levels when fully embraced.

    In a lecture on ethics and professionalism, the Deputy President, Ayodapo Shoderu, urged the inductees to be ingenious in developing products that meet the desires of the public.

    Shoderu said despite the social functions of insurance, operators must constantly bear in mind the need to entrench the practice in the minds of the public to reduce the image and acceptance problems confronting the industry.

     

  • Union Assurance’s gross premium rises by 19%

    Union Assurance Company Limited has grown its gross premium by 19.6 per cent over the figure registered at the end 2010 business year.

    The gross premium for the 2011 business year stood at N3.84 billion, against N3.21 billion realised in 2010, showing a difference of N630 million.

    This is contained in the chairman’s statement to shareholders during the 13th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the firm in Lagos.

    The Chairman, Mrs. Olufunke Osibodu, told shareholders the company recorded another good year, saying the firm’s total assets grew by 4.35 per cent, from N8.65 billion in the preceding year to N9.03 billion in the review year.

    A further analysis of the accounts showed that the underwriting performance improved by 22.9 per cent, from N1.05 billion in 2010 to N1.29 billion in 2011. Claims incurred during the year, rose by 33.7 per cent, from N414.09 million in 2010 to N553.8 million in the review period.

    Also, Profit Before Tax grew by 16.8 per cent, from N125 million in 2010 to N143.69 million in 2011, while Profit After Tax rose from N38.74 million in 2010, to N105.81 million.

    Mrs Osibodu said within the review year, the company’s insurance funds moved significantly from N2.267 billion in 2010 to N2.855 billion in 2011, while the contingency reserve closed at N592.808 million, up from N498.344 million in 2010.

    Despite the good result posted by the company, no dividend was declared for shareholders. She pleaded with the shareholders to bear with the management to enable them complete the capacity building initiative started in 2009.

    She said: “We plead for your support to reinvest our profit for the year towards the completion of our capacity-building initiative which we started in 2009. More funds need to be committed to our business expansion plan to enable you reap better yields subsequently. The board is, therefore, not recommending any dividends for the year.”

    She lamented the low acceptance of insurance in Nigeria, saying the country has one of the least developed insurance markets in Africa

    She expressed optimism that with the rapidly rising youthful population, the ‘catch process’ for the life insurance market is unstoppable, adding that Nigeria’s low penetration, however, provides opportunity for growth which the company was positioning itself to tap into.

    She assured the shareholders that their investment in the company would rebound.

     

  • Flooding: Insurers urged on policy

    Operators have been urged to capitalise on the flood ravaging many parts of the country to drum support for related policy, the President, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN), Dr Wole Adetimehin, has said.

    In a statement by the institute’s Director of Corporate Communication, Joseph Obah, Adetimehin said insurance penetration in Nigeria was a result of several factors, ranging from lack of awareness to the average citizen’s scale of preference.

    He said: “In many ways, Insurance remains an essential index for measurement of national development although lacking in its expected degree of presence in individual and national consciousness, especially in developing countries like Nigeria.

    “Recent flooding of parts of Nigeria and cases of related environmental hazards make insurance the way to go for Nigerians. The insurance sub-sector must seize this as the needed opportunity to drive home its age-long message.”

     

  • Royal Exchange supports youth conference in Lagos

    Royal Exchange supports youth conference in Lagos

    Royal Exchange Plc has thrown its weight behind the Fifh edition of the annual Leadership Conference for Secondary School Prefects in Lagos State.

    The event, which is scheduled to hold at the new auditorium, Igbobi College, Yaba, Lagos, on Wednesday is expected to attract over 1,000 pupil from about 50 post-primary educational institutions in the state.

    A statement by the Corporate Affairs Department of Royal Exchange Plc quotes the Executive Director of the Group, Alhaji Auwalu Muktari, as saying that this year’s conference will be exciting, educative and instructive as it will include a lecture on insurance as well as inspirational discussions on leadership, attitudinal change and patriotism.

    He re-emphasised the commitment of Royal Exchange to the development of youth in the country, saying that “unless we catch them young and nuture them at this stage, the country’s future is most certainly fraught with uncertainty and inepititude”.

    Muktari urged parents and teachers to continue to pay attention to the academic and moral developments of their children and wards as this demographic segment constitutes the real foundation of nationhood.

    This year’s conference, which is in colloboration with Foundation for Youth Education, has as its theme “The Youth as Catalyst in the National Transformation Agenda”.

  • CIIN to hold seminar

    The Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN) is set to hold this year’s education seminar next month. The seminar, which is scheduled for Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, is to address the imperatives for improved service delivery and ensuring that the policy holder is protected at all times.

    In a statement signed by Mr Joseph Obah, CIIN’s Director of Corporate Communication, the seminar is described as a veritable platform for the training and retraining of the industry’s branch office managers and other key middle level personnel.

    The seminar theme: Making Insurance Count, according to the release, brings into focus the imperatives for growing insurance bigger in public perception while examining the ways and means by which branch office operations could be strengthened in order to guarantee prompt resolution of customer related issues which have remained sore spots in the Industry’s profile.

    The statement also quoted the CIIN President, Dr. Wole Adetimehin, as saying that the resolution of customer-related issues should be a win-win situation with the customer and the service provider occupying positions of mutual respect.

    Speakers expected at the seminar include Mr Wehinmi Jemide and Mr Wale Onaolapo of WJLLP Consulting and Sovereign Trust Insurance plc.

  • Law Union and Rock’s premium rises to N4.2b

    Law Union and Rock Insurance Plc has recorded an increase in premium income from N4.046 billion in 2010 to N4.20 billion in 2011, representing a modest increase of four per cent.

    The chairperson of the company, Princess Adenike Adeniran, who disclosed this at the company’s 43th Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos, said despite the economic challenges that most businesses had to contend with, the company was able to record the modest achievement last year.

    Pricesss Adenike noted that earned premium of the company increased by eight per cent. The figure stood at N3.547 billion, up from N3.285 billion recorded in 2010. Investment income of the company stood at N228.63 million while the company paid N34.378 million as tax within the period.

    Adenike further stated that within the year under review, the total assets of the underwriting firm stood at over N7 billion with a very strong growth potential to place the company among the top players in the Nigerian insurance industry.

    To this end, she hinted that the company will implement all the strategic initiatives that have been mapped out to move the company towards the attainment of set its goals. Some of the strategies according to her are: total reorganisation of the company, re-orientation of the staff and reduction of management overheads as well as removal of all unnecessary financial expenses.

    Others are aggressive drive for collection of outstanding premium, penetration into the oil and gas market, new products developments, drive for retail market and efficient information technology systems. Furthermore she said improved welfare, prudent and profitable investment system, development of agency platforms as well as continued maintenance of robust relationship with insurance brokers and other stakeholders, would be vigorously pursued.

    Adenike assured the stakeholders that with the implementation of these strategies, the company stands to benefit extensively from the market reshaping campaign being carried out by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM).

    The company has appointed new directors, managing director and chief executive officer. The directors are: Mr Remi Babalola, Olaseni Kusamotu, Victor Faleye, Olaiya Ajana, Oluwatoyin Olusanya and Funmi Ekundayo.

    Mrs. Toyin Ogunseye is the new Managing Director. She has over 20 years experience.