Chiamaka Ajeamo
The Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) has commended the Federal Government over the payment of the 2020 group life insurance for all its employee in full to underwriters.
Speaking to the members of the National Association of Insurance and Pension Correspondents (NAIPCO) shortly after their 2020 Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos, the Vice President of NCRIB, Tunde Oguntade, who gave the commendation described the payment as a positive development.
Oguntade who represented the NCRIB President, Dr. (Mrs) Bola Onigbogi, however failed to disclose the actual figure paid to insurers but noted that the government had early in the year budgeted N15 billion for full payment of the premium.
The Federal Government had in the 2020 Appropriation Bill, proposed N15 billion for payment of group life insurance for all its workers.
Oguntade used the opportunity to implore the government on the need to engage the services of the registered insurance brokers in order to mitigate the risk of contact failures.
He expressed displeasure over government’s failure to engage insurance brokers in its insurance arrangement.
He said: “The 2020 group life is off the schedule because full premium has been paid on the account for the current year, there’s no lapse in cover at the moment.
“On government contracts what we are trying to do at NCRIB is to talk to ministers through our liaison committee and leadership about the contract failure thing you have all over the federation, if you have insurance and you have brokers arranging them for you, of course all those contracts failure will not be there because contracts failures are sometimes premeditated but they do not want to listen to us.
“We have been talking to them about all these roads, bridges and rails under construction and the importance of the government to engage the brokers. If they don’t want the contracts to fail, they know what to do. Imagine someone who go to roadside agent to ask for insurance policy. It’s the NCRIB that puncture that thing and say this is wrong. We will continue to do our best to engage government as long as government is willing to do the right thing, NCRIB will be there to support them,” he said.
Commenting on ways to deepen insurance penetration in the country, he said there are several ways that can be done and technology has a crucial role to play.
He said: “You have online models which is referred to as technology, you have the physical, and you have referrals. If the online model does not work, you try the physical model. When you see people going to the market, it doesn’t mean that they do not have technology
On application of technology in their operations, Oguntade, said what NCRIB has done was to ensure that all its members are ICT savvy. Also speaking, the Executive Secretary, NCRIB, Fatai Adegbenro, said on the area of government contacts, the Council is in close contact with government agencies, stating that every year the Council writes to inform them on the need to engage the services of the registered insurance brokers.
He noted that the NCRIB’s collaborative relationship with the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) was now strong enough to ensure that fake brokers are flushed out of the system.