The Commissioner for Insurance, Alhaji Mohammed Kari, has urged insurance industry operators to introduce positive changes and innovations in their business, insisting that the industry cannot continue to apply the same business method and approach.
The commissioner stated this in a recent forum in Lagos, adding the industry operators must key into the trend of change in the country for survival.
"We are in the era of change and the insurance sector could not afford to be left behind. Under the present dispensation and a rapidly dynamic environment, the industry certainly cannot continue to apply the same methods and approach of conducting its business and expect a different result”, he said.
Kari said the commission is not unmindful of the challenges confronting the industry noting that it requires collective and decisive efforts of all stakeholders to navigate successfully to safety.
"It is on this strength that the commission recently inaugurated an Insurers Committee whose membership constitute chief executive officers of all insurance companies, leadership of all trade associations and of course the Commissioner for Insurance," he explained.
He said by its design, the committee is to meet regularly to discuss issues and challenges of the sector and proffer possible solutions towards moving the industry to a higher level.
Kari said the inaugurated committee will also provide the operators with first-hand information and the opportunity to contribute to intended policies, circulars and regulations of the commission prior exposure to the market adding this way, grey areas of conflicts would have been resolved between all the parties at the committee level.
The commissioner highlighted all the commission's efforts to move the industry forward saying in 2009, the commission launched the Market Development and Restructuring Initiatives (MDRI) programme.
This according to him, is a medium term industry development plan designed by the commission with focus on the enforcement of compulsory insurance products, increase insurance awareness, reduction in incidences of fake insurances and increase agency reform. According to him, the initiative was successfully launched in the six geo-political zones and Abuja.
He recalled that the commission also followed up with massive awareness campaign, roadshows and seminars again in all the zones of the country insisting that the efforts were geared towards making the insurance institutions richer and better.
"The question remains whether the insurance companies have been able to take maximum advantage of this window to grow their businesses”, he rhetorically asked.
Continuing he said in 2013, the commission introduced and launched the Micro-insurance and Takaful under the financial inclusion programme to promote rural insurance, drive penetration, increase premium portfolios of insurance entities and generate employment to the teaming youth.
He said in its efforts to forestall the insistent poor cash flow position of most insurance operators and the attendant inability to settle claims and other operational liabilities, the Commission embarked on the full implementation of the No Premium No Cover as enshrined in the Insurance Act 2003 at the beginning of 2013.
He also said the most current effort of the commission in this regard was its recent sensitisation of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of government on the compelling need for adequate insurance of their assets.
"We have equally canvassed the engagement of insurance professionals to handle their insurances to ensure they procure proper insurance policies. We have advocated the need for the MDAs to ensure adequate budgets for the insurance of their assets as well.
We have entered into collaboration with relevant government agencies to enforce compliance of certain classes of insurance made compulsory by extant laws in the country. We believe that these drives are capable of providing the much required boost in the growth of the industry", the commissioner added.
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