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From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
Members of the National Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) on Thursday unanimously described the Federal Government as the biggest debtor of the insurance sector.
Speaking with newsmen in Abuja, the Executive Director of Operations, Hallmark Micro Life Insurance Company, Mary Adeyanju, explained that as the greatest consumer of insurance products and services, it was only natural that the federal government would double as the number one debtor.
She, however, stated that the government recently paid N9.2 billion as premium to the insurance sector, adding that the outstanding debt was as a result of poor economic conditions, especially the COVID-19 pestilence, which are shrinking government’s revenue.
Adeyanju, who spoke at the media parley organised by the NCRIB in Abuja said; “The truth is that the federal government is the biggest debtor to this industry. Obviously if you are the greatest consumer of the product, naturally you will also be the biggest debtor to that product. The Federal government has supported insurance like every other country. The economy has not been doing so well and so the government hasn’t been spending much in the area of insurance.
“Recently, the federal government paid N9.2 billion as premium for life policies and the rest of them. We still have a lot of outstanding things from the non-life sector.
“We know that the economy is not very buoyant right now, so we are praying for the federal government of this country that the economy picks up and we are also trying to contribute our own part to see that we put in some form of traction into the economy from the sector we oversee, so that the government is also enabled to pick up their bills especially from the insurance perspective.”
She further said the NCRIB has been collaborating with regulators within and outside the sector to promote greater awareness of insurance services as part of its efforts to deepen insurance penetration and adoption across the nation.
“There have been collaborations for some time. Our regulator, the National Insurance Commission has been collaborating with the Nigerian Insurers Association to help create awareness. So, that campaign has been on for two to three years and we are hoping that we can still do a whole lot more. There are other collaborations with the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Fire Service and so on. So, we are trying to see how we can have more impact.
“We don’t seem to have achieved as much as we should, but we are hoping that soon, the efforts that have been put into rebranding our image will become visible.
On her part, the President of the NCRIB, Bola Onigbogi called on the federal government to encourage Ministries, Agencies and Departments to pay premiums in order to promote the growth of the sector.
