The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Insurers

  • Insurers Committee highlights efforts to improve business

    Insurers Committee highlights efforts to improve business

    Insurers Committee rose from a closed-door meeting revealing that the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has again expressed concern over the backlog of unpaid claims with some insurance companies.

    The unpaid claim which is similar to unclaimed dividend would soon be publicised by insurers in order for the policyholders to forward to make their claims.

    Speaking for the Committee, Chairman, Sub-Committee on Publicity, Ebelechukwu Nwachukwu while briefing newsmen on the outcome of the committee’s meeting in Lagos, said the committee resolved that the unpaid claims should be publicised on the platform of the Nigeria Insurers Association (NIA) for the first three months to encourage those with lodged claims to come for it.

    She stated that after the three months and they see that the impact is still outstanding; companies may be mandated to do their own publicity.

    She pointed out that a lot of unpaid claims have been reported, but supporting documents were not provided, and as such they remain as outstanding claims for so many years.

    Nwachukwu, also Managing Director of Royal Exchange General Insurance, stated that NAICOM observed the practice during the ongoing Risk Based Supervision (RBS) in some insurance companies.

    She further stated that the commission warned operators against dealing with unlicensed brokers and agents to facilitate insurance businesses.

    She said: “The regulator spoke to us very strongly, to ensure that all the agents and brokers we deal with are licensed up-to-date or renewed, as against doing business with brokers with expired licences or unregistered agents,” she said.

    According to her, NAICOM also recommended self-regulation to underwriters, regarding RBS.

    The sub-committee chairman disclosed that NAICOM directed that boards of the various underwriting firms should approve and implement whistle-blowing policies in their respective companies.

    Nwachukwu said the committee also agreed on the need for the insurance industry to increase awareness of annuities and continue to build trust to ensure that the product line grows significantly.

    “With the amount of funds in the pension industry, we should expect a lot of that to be downloaded into the insurance industry through annuity. We further discussed the need for NAICOM to continue to engage the National Assembly to ensure the passage of the Consolidated Insurance Bill.

    “Insurers had also begun the process of harmonising the ECOWAS Brown Card to ensure that the same certificate is issued across all countries using the brown card”.

    Read Also: Partial compliance as Lagos workers join NLC strike

    She said the insurers also took a presentation from KPMG, as part of its planning for the insurance industry’s 10-year Transformation Roadmap.

    She also said that eight pillars were proposed to the insurance industry as part of the roadmap, which includes: continuous improvement of the regulatory environment.

    Nwachukwu said as part of the proposal, Risk-Based pricing and Risk-Based capital would become paramount.

    She stated that increased awareness and improvement in market conduct and ethics were proposed as part of the transformational roadmap to the future that the industry desires.

    The sub-committee chairman said that the presentation also suggested more partnerships with non-insurer players, just as it is done in the banking industry.

    She stated that the insurers were charged with digitalisation and improvement of the talent pool of the insurance sector and supporting the national economic growth plan.

  • Insurers need $725m to meet recap order

    Insurance companies will need $725 million (about N261.5 billion) to meet the new capital requirement of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Africa Re has said.

    Speaking on the sideline of the just concluded African Insurance Conference (AIO) in South Africa, its Group Managing Director,  Cornellie Karekezi, said the companies may not be able to meet the June 2020 deadline set by the regulator if they do not intensify effort to seek for capital.

    NAICOM had last month,  mandated all the 57 insurance and two re-insurance firms in the country to increase their minimum paid-up share capital. They are to recapitalise within 13 months or lose their licences.

    Also Read: Insurer to pay claim on burnt Owerri Airport Terminal

    The commission raised the minimum paid-up share capital of Life Insurance company from N2 billion to N8 billion; Non-Life from N3 billion to N10 billion and Composite from N5 billion to N18 billion. Re-insurance companies were directed to raise their capital base from N10 billion to N20 billion.

    Karekezi said it is a welcome development for them as reinsurers.

    He said: “Re-insurers should be strong. We want re-insurers who are strong so that we can go into other markets and do good business.

    “A re-insurer cannot stay in one market because it is an international business; so you can’t have N20 billion or N10 billion or N5 billion and you want to go to insure in Mozambique or Botswana or any other country. It doesn’t make sense; you need some level of capital. So the increase is very okay for reinsurers. There is no pity for reinsurers. We are supposed to be strong and big.”

  • Insurers need communications strategy, others to boost awareness, says expert

    THERE is need for a communications strategy to boost insurance penetration and acceptance of insurance by Nigerians, an expert has said.

    The expert, Okey Udezue, spoke at a seminar organised by the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN) in Lagos.

    The event had as theme “The Nigerian economy 2019: Issues, Challenges and prospects for the insurance industry”

    Udezue said there was no defined communications strategy by the operators.

    He listed other challenges facing the industry to include lack of innovative products and poor integration of technology.

    He said the industry is only just waking up to the enormity of the task confronting it and may have underestimated the level of apathy that the typical Nigerian, particularly those living in rural areas, has towards insurance.

    He stated that the promotion used to create awareness, persuade and reassure the people is key to the marketing mix.

    Should communications strategy be left to individual firms or should some aspects be left to the regulators while the operators focus on various aspects under an integrated marketing platform? he asked.

    He said the industry should note that during the period the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was pursuing a vital communications strategy to actualise cashless banking, individual banks created their own strategies to exploit the opportunity to get many non-customers open accounts with them.

    Another challenge of the industry, he said, is inadequate training and skills of some workers in the industry.

    He said: “The law of natural selling, which states that ‘nobody will spend his money to buy anything unless by so doing he will be better off than before’ points to another issue that is creating a challenge for the industry. Given that the revenue in the profit equation is all about ensuring continuing growth of sales (insurance premiums), the question arises as to whether or not those that actually go out to sell insurance have the necessary training and skills to win over the many skeptical people across the nation, especially those that live outside commercial cities.

    “As marketing gurus would say, selling financial services is different from selling tangible products and requires special skills that go beyond merely presenting and listing features of products to prospects. And because financial services are the same from company to company, the ‘messenger’ (the seller they see) is the one that will make the difference and must be bought before his ‘message’. This means the insurance seller must possess and exhibit skills and techniques for surfacing the non-verbally expressed emotions of the buyer in addition to having great product and industry knowledge. Or else, how can he speak to his priorities?

    “The future of insurance selling calls for a shift from features-oriented marketing to benefits-focused customer engagement. And beyond the need for a general upgrade of selling skills, there are also issues with the dearth of trained actuaries’professionals, underwriting and general brokerage experts. The industry should be concerned that not too many students enrol for insurance-related subjects in the universities. A proactive response may involve working with the universities (NUC) to evolve a strategy to attract more people into these programs. How it responds will be critical for achieving agreed future performance milestones.

    “It is significant that the banking industry, when faced with similar issues and challenges, set up their training academies to equip prospective new hires into their banks with knowledge and skills for preparing them in meeting and dealing with issues and challenges peculiar to provision of banking services to Nigerians.”

    He further stated that the issue of lack of innovative products is one of the top (if not the top) reasons for insurance exclusion challenging the industry. If the growth of revenue in the profit equation is critical for growing the industry, perhaps, this is a good time to single out for industry attention.

    Given the statistics on people living with extreme poverty and the demographic distribution of adults with survival income, the commitment to expand the market for insurance will be frustrated by the absence of innovative products that can be used to tap into the vast untapped market, he noted.

     

     

  • ‘Group Life, other regulations best for insurers in 2018’

    The two major reforms introduced by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) on group life business and motor third party policies contributed to the industry’s growth in the outgoing year, Group Managing Director, Cornerstone Insurance Plc, Ganiyu Musa has said.

    He spoke with select reporters in Lagos.

    He said the regulatory interventions corrected the pricing of the products and enhanced operators’ compliance.

    Nusa said the market suffered huge losses caused by uncompetitive pricing of the products, adding that the intervention of NAICOM, which stabilised motor third party at N5, 000 and group life at six per mill, has helped firms garner resources to meet claims obligation.

    He noted that some operators had started to think of quitting because there is no need being in business when you cannot pay claims.

    He said: “Before this policy on group life, some life businesses were getting to stress level as a result of uncompetitive pricing, while claims kept coming. Today, majority of them are able to pay their claims because premium is right.”

    Speaking on the business environment in the outgoing year, the GMD said the year was very challenging as result of the overall social and political environment, which impacted on investor confidence.

    “The increasing insecurity in Northeast; delays in passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill increased regulatory militancy, across the sectors, which saw telecoms giant MTN fined twice heavily are among the issues that affected the business environment in 2018.

    “Even in our own industry, we also had a share of the regulatory downside, and all of these are impacting negatively on investor confidence. Other issues that affected insurance business in 2018 include the declining prices of products and premium war that has continued to affect growth of the industry.

    “I hope that the industry will cure itself of the price war that has characterised the business, and compete effectively in other fundamentals rather than price. This will support industry growth and performance in the coming year,’’ he said.

    For Cornerstone, Musa said 2018 was not bad in terms of numbers, as approved result up to last September showed a growth of over 30 per cent.

    He said the company also recorded huge profit having overcome the negative position it went through the previous year.

    He also said the firm’s N8 billion corporate head office which is almost at the level of completion is an investment and would start to impact on the company’s books at the end of this year,

  • Insurers step up Brexit plans in absence of clarity

    Insurers in the United Kingdom (UK) accessing business in the European Union (EU) are making arrangements to ensure that they are able to provide insurance services in the other 27 EU countries post Brexit, it was learnt.

    The ability to continue to conduct cross-border business is a particular concern for Lloyd’s, the London market and other UK-based commercial insurers.

    Director, Market Development and Communications, A. M. Best, Dr. Edem Kuenyehia, disclosed this in a statement in Lagos.

    According to him, it is less of an issue for retail insurers as they principally underwrite domestic business.

    He stated that in the absence of clarity as to what a future trade deal will look like between the UK and the EU this year; affected insurers have accelerated their plans to establish new EU subsidiaries.

    He said these subsidiaries will ensure that they are able to underwrite EU business post March 2019 or after any formally agreed transition period. Small insurers that do not have the resources to create additional companies, are forming relationships with local carriers that can front business for them in the EU.

    He added that insurers are also addressing the possibility that, in the absence of a political solution, companies in the UK, which currently make use of passporting rights, will not be able to service claims on existing EU policies after Brexit.

    As a contingency, he noted that a growing number of companies are exploring potentially expensive Part VII transfers of existing EU business to their newly-created subsidiaries.

    Kuenyehia stated that the cost implications of setting up a new risk carrier in the EU are weighing on insurers and the associated operating and restructuring expenses will impact their earnings.

    He said: “Furthermore, the creation of an additional, separately-capitalised subsidiary may reduce the fungibility of capital across an insurance group and its capital efficiency.”

     

  • Insurers embracing merger, acquisition, says report

    INsurers are turning to merger and acquisition (M&A) in their search for profit, a report by A. M. Best has shown.

    The report, was made available to The Nation in Lagos by the firm’s Director, Market Development & Communications, Dr. Edem Kuenyehia.

    1. M. Best, a global rating agency, stated that insurers were finding it difficult to meet their targeted returns, no thanks to poor underwriting performance and investment returns.

    It disclosed that the M&A market has been active in recent months, a trend, which A. M. Best expects to continue.

    It cited American International Group, which has announced plans to buy Validus Holdings, andAXA has unveiled its intention to acquire XL Group.

    Also, SoftBank has been contemplating taking a minority stake in Swiss Re. In addition, some groups are set to dispose of Lloyd’s operations, notably Sompo Holdings, which sold Canopius AG, to a private equity consortium and The Hanover, which is exploring a sale of Chaucer.

    Bolt-on deals have included Zurich, entering into an agreement to acquire Australian insurer QBE in Latin America and Qatar Reinsurance Company buying Markerstudy’s Gibraltar-based insurance companies, it added.

    The agency said: “Drivers contributing to the recent merger and acquisition activity include the perceived need to build scale and relevance, particularly in the reinsurance sector, which remains under pressure from alternative capital. The soft market conditions are making it difficult to generate strong underwriting returns, and the low interest rate environment is hindering companies’ ability to obtain acceptable yields from investment portfolios.

    “Smaller operations have typically been sold to peers with a stronger presence in a particular market, with buyers seeking to enhance their profile and performance. Furthermore, where companies have identified potential challenges to the sustainability of existing markets or business models, for example from technology, they are looking to diversify to reduce their exposure to these threats. In particular, changing distribution practices have made companies with either data driven technology or a focus on less commoditised specialty business attractive.

    “Some insurers are taking advantage of relatively inexpensive borrowing to finance deals, while in other cases; M&A represents a means for cash rich buyers to deploy excess capital. A.M. Best notes that private equity backed buyers are especially active as they have excess capital and fierce competition between these participants are driving price multiples higher.”

     

    Post-acquisition strategies

    A.M. Best notes there are various strategies deployed in post-acquisition and that they are related to the original motivation for the deal.

    “For example, when similar businesses merge, the intention tends to be to increase scale and relevance in existing markets; therefore, the focus is on realising expense synergies and economies of scale. There will also be an effort to minimise any loss of business, but at the same time ensure that where there is overlap, exposures remain within tolerance. A.M. Best believes that this type of consolidation can be positive as it tends to enhance the position of the company in the insurance value chain, although there are obvious risks associated with execution.’’

    It continued: “In cases where the business of the acquired entity differs considerably to that underwritten by the buyer, the acquired management team is usually kept in place. This has been evident over the past few years in deals involving large Japanese groups buying London market or Bermudian entities. The acquired entity is also more likely to maintain a significant degree of independence. This can allow the takeover target to retain some of the advantages of being a smaller organisation – for example, it can be nimble and potentially more innovative, while benefiting from parental protection and access to the parent’s often large capital base.

    “Finally, in situations where the acquirer is looking to accelerate growth in a market where it has a small presence, the acquired entity is more likely to retain its own identity and brand motivations and likely patterns in future deal-making

    “A. M. Best expects the drivers and market dynamics behind recent deals to remain and that consolidation will continue, particularly for smaller insurers, as it becomes increasingly difficult to achieve acceptable returns on capital. As retail business and the smaller end of the commercial market become increasingly commoditised, largely due to the increased use of technology, companies that have access to and the ability to underwrite more complex specialty business are proving attractive.

    “Additionally, data and analytical capabilities are becoming more important; therefore, companies that add value here are likely to become takeover targets. Other qualities that make an insurer desirable include strong management teams, diversifying portfolios and associated capital efficiencies, as well as access to business and technology.

    “Buyers will seek to avoid potential unforeseen legacy issues and exposures that are outside their risk appetite. Challenges in the M&A environment are diverse and include overpaying, which could erode shareholder value, as well as execution risk on the integration of staff and systems, potential loss of talent and the alignment of different cultures,” it stated.

     

  • Insurers pay N119.5b claims

    Insurers pay N119.5b claims

    Amid the hardship of recession in 2016, insurers helped restore businesses and  protect families of insured Nigerians through payment of claims for losses worth N119.5 billion, a report by the Nigeria Insurers Association (NIA) has shown.

    The amount was paid by 58 insurance companies that are members of the association. They comprise 15 specialist life insurance companies, 29 non-life insurance companies, 15 composite insurance companies and two reinsurance companies.

    A breakdown of the report shows that the 29 insurance companies offering non-life business paid N57.7 billion claims  in the year under review, while the Life business paid N61.87 billion.

    It also showed that the claims paid by the Non-Life companies increased from N54.65 billion in 2015 to N57.7 billion in 2016, representing an increase of 5.69 per cent while the claims for Life companies increased from 50.5 per cent in 2015 to N61.8 billion in 2016, representing an increase of 15.84 per cent.

    Meanwhile, the non-life and life companies recorded about N315.97 billion insurance premium income in 2016.

    NIA Chairman Eddie Efekoha stated in the report that the economy was confirmed to have slipped into recession for the first time in over two decades.

    According to him, this reflected economic shocks, inconsistent economic policies, and worsening security problems across the country particularly the Northeast and renewed attacks on oil installations in the Niger Delta regions.

    The year, he said, was very challenging for the   sector, which battled with low patronage, fragmented payment from major schemes including government as the slide in crude oil price resulted in downturn in earnings.

    He said: “The other factors contended with include high inflation rate culminating in increased expenses, unfavorable foreign exchange spell leading to high reinsurance premium paid and claims settled on relevant portfolios. On the global scene, weak global growth lingered, posing a serious challenge to the implementation of the agenda for sustainable development.

    “World gross product was projected to have expanded by just 2.4 per cent in 2016, the weak rate as in 2015. This reflects significant downward revisions of growth for many countries in Africa, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and Latin America and the Caribbean from the forecasts in December 7:15. Persistent weakness in aggregate demand in developed economies remains a drag on global growth, while C’A commodity prices, mounting fiscal and current-account imbalances and policy tightening have further been dampened the growth prospects of many commodity-exporting economies. The already bleak growth prospects  have been compounded by severe weather-related shocks, political challenges and large capital outflows in many developing regions.

    “The finance and insurance sector consists of the two subscribers, financial institutions and insurance firms, which in nominal terms account for 87 per cent and 13 per cent of the sector respectively. As a whole the sector grew by 19. 74 per cent in nominal terms (year on year) with the growth rates of 20.02 per cent and 17.89 per cent for financial institutions and insurance respectively. The overall rate was higher than that in fourth quarter of 2015 bu 3.03 per cent points, and lower by 0.91 per cent ponts than the preceeding quarter.

    “The sector’s contribution to the overall nominal GDP was 3.33 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2016, higher than the 3.14 per cent it represented a year previous, and down from the contribution of 3.51 per cent it made in the preceding quarter. For full year 2016, the sector in real terms contracted by -4.56 per cent, compared to a growth of 7.12 per cent in 2015, driven by a contraction in financial institutions real GDP he adLagos pays deceased workers families N85m death benefitsded.

     

  • Products recall affecting insurers, says report

    •Technology drives new triggers, warns Allianz

    Defective products recall is causing insurers billions of dollars in claims, says a report by Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS).

    The report titled: “Product recall: Managing the impact of the new risk landscape” was the outcome of a survey covering 367 insurance product recall claims from 28 countries across 12 sectors between 2012 and the first half of the year.

    The report, unveiled to reporters in Lagos by AGCS officials, noted that tougher regulation, global supply chains, materials from fewer suppliers and consumer awareness contributed to recalls.

    According to AGCS’claims analysis, the average cost of the significant recall is US$12 million.

    Automotive industry was most impacted, followed by food and beverage sector.

    The report states that emerging triggers include recalls for ethical reasons, cyber recalls from security vulnerabilities or hackers manipulating products, and social media.

    A faulty pedal, the report said, caused a car to inadvertently accelerate and that contaminated peanuts could result in a 25 per cent reduction in sales. Each of these incidents triggered major product recalls, resulting in huge losses, it added.

    AGCS warned that a product-related risk is one of the biggest perils, with recall exposures increasing over the past decade, and could cause more losses. It highlighted the automotive industry as the most impacted, followed by food and beverage and  Information Technolgy/electronics.

    AGCS Head of Global Crisis Management, Christof Bentele, said: ‘’We are seeing record levels of recall activity in size and cost.Tougher regulation and harsher penalties, the rise of large multi-national corporations and complex global supply chains, growing consumer awareness, impact of economic pressures in research and development (R&D) and production and even growth of social media are just some of the contributing factors behind this.

    ‘’Overall, defective product or work is the major cause of recall claims, followed by product contamination with the average cost of significant incident in excess of S$12 million €10.5 million, with the costs from the largest events far exceeding this total,’’ he said.

    ‘’Automotive recalls were the most expensive and large-scale due to their “ripple effect’’ accounting for over 70 per cent  of the losses analysed, which is not surprising given recent record levels of activity in both the US and Europe.

    AGCS Regional Head of Liability, Central & Eastern Europe, Carsten Krieglstein, said more recalls would emanate from the automotive industry.

    He said this was caused by complex engineering, reduced product testing times, outsourcing and increasing cost pressures, noting that the technological shift in the automotive industry towards electric and autonomous mobility would create further recall risks.

    The report cites one of the largest recalls in the auto industry – defective airbags – expected to result in  70 million units across about 19 manufacturers. Costs have been estimated at S$25 billion.

    It added: “This incident exemplifies the growing ripple effect which impacts the automotive sector, but also other industries. Given the use of many common components, a single recall can impact a whole industry.

    “Food and beverage is the second most impacted sector, accounting for 16 per cent of analysed losses with the average cost of a significant product recall claim almost S$9.5 million or €8 million. Undeclared allergens, including mislabelling incidents and pathogens, are a major issue, as is contamination from glass, plastic and metal parts.

    “Malicious tampering and even extortion incidents pose an increasing threat, as well as the growth of food fraud, which has become a major issue, resulting in reputational damage and major losses, as seen in the horse meat scandal in Europe four years ago.”

    The report also notes that products from Asia would continue to account for a disproportionate number of recalls in the US and Europe, reflecting the eastwards shift in global supply chains and historically weaker quality controls in some countries. future recall risks

     

  • Post Assurance Brokers hosts a consortium of global insurers

    A consortium of international insurance companies from the United Kingdom, comprising Lloyds, Lockton LLP, Cathedral, Atrium and Talbot are currently in Nigeria for an assessment and better understanding of the Nigerian insurance market.

    The Vice Chairman/CEO, Post Assurance Brokers, Lekan Ajisafe at whose instance the team is visiting is thrilled that leading international insurance companies are in Nigeria to feel the market and meet some of their key insurance buyers.

    Ajisafe said this is the first time these professionals are visiting, adding that “this visit is imperative at this time when Nigeria is just coming out of recession with the much needed economic improvement. This is the time to improve our relationships with the international Insurance market as well as change impressions held about Nigeria.”

    Post Assurance Brokers, a leading insurance brokerage firm in Nigeria would be conducting the visitors round the market with visits to key stakeholders and special insurance buyers like Caverton Helicopters.

    Prominent among the insurance practitioners, are  Andrew Cameron of Lockton LLP, John Spence of Cathedral, Alex Cullen of Atrium and Will Gaunt from Talbot.

  • ‘N167b annuity transfer order is a blessing to insurers’

    Lagos State Pension Commission (LASPEC) former Director-General,Rotimi Hussain, has urged life insurers in the country to accept the mandate given to them by the National pension Commission (PenCom) to transfer N167.84 billion annuity fund belonging to about 34,312 annuitants to Pension Fund Custodians (PFCs), describing the transfer as a blessing to the insurance industry.

    He made this call at the fourth edition of BusinessToday Insurance & Pension Awards in Lagos. It had as  theme, The current Annuity fund arrangement – a threat or blessing to insurers.

    He charged the insurers to engage more with the National Pension Commission (PenCom) on development of rules and management of pension funds through their group, the Nigeria Insurers Association (NIA) and the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM).

    He urged insurers to accept that the arrangement would correct the public perception that insurers have full autonomy over annuity. He observed that the other blessing in the arrangement was that it would build public confidence and attract more people into buying annuity and growing the fund.

    He stressed that the domiciling of the annuity fund with Pension Fund Custodians would also stem the demarketing of annuity as it would provide a level playing field for insurers and Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs), stressing that the arrangement would lead to safety of pension funds.

    He said: “The confidence to be achieved through the new arrangement, will help attract the private sector to annuity business, hence, enhancing the insurance market share.

    “Insurers need to leverage the opportunities to be created by the new arrangement by being aggressive and innovative in the pursuit of their business.”

    Group Managing Director, Royal Exchange Plc, Auwalu Muktari, said one critical success factor in the interplay between PenCom and NAICOM was the umbrella body of insurance firms in Nigeria, the NIA.

    He pointed out that it was important that the industry spoke with one voice and presents a unified front in the campaign to ensure the annuity funds remain with the life companies.

    He stressed that under the new guidelines recently issued by PenCom and NAICOM, the annuity funds from all insurance companies who issue annuity policies will be transferred to PFCs of their choice, adding that this amounts to over 34,312 annuitants having their funds, N167.84 billion, leaving the insurance industry and moving to the designated PFCs.

    Muktari asked how do the insurance companies would compensate for the drop in profit. “The new guidelines issued by NAICOM and PenCom make no mention of insurance agents and brokers. Who will pay the insurance broker or agent their commissions and from which premium, since the funds have been transferred to the PFCs? Let us all remember that brokers and agents play key roles in the sale and distribution of insurance products in Nigeria.

    The Commissioner for Establishment, Training and Pensions, Dr. Benson Oke, commenting on the theme, noted that Section 7 of the Lagos State Contributory Pension Scheme Law of 2007 recognises annuities as one of the investment options to which retirement savings account can be put.

    “From a social welfare governance perspective, annuities represent a responsible and effective tool that ensures the availability of funds to pensioners in a regular and prudent manner.

    “I call on all stakeholders in the insurance and pension industry to embrace and utilise all tools that promote effective management of the funds available for pension purposes,” he said.