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Global economic crisis: Insurance remains succour –Experts

By Henry Uche 

Amid global economic crisis, insurance remains a sustainable succour for everyone including corporate bodies to weather the storms following the outbreak of covid-19 pandemic. This was  the position of experts in the insurance sector at the 2022 business outlook held recently in Lagos put together by the chartered insurance institute of Nigeria  (CIIN).

These experts  maintained that though the pandemic affected all sectors, however, its positive side must not be underestimated as innovation, creativity and adoption have kept forward-looking individuals and corporate organizations soaring. 

With the theme, “Economic Policies of the government in 2022: Challenges Issues and Prospects,” insurance experts posited that it was ideal for the federal and state government to give the sector every support it deserve, and very imperative if everyone would have one form of insurance cover or the other with an insurer in other to ameliorate the effects of the pandemic minimally. They expressed optimism that the sector will soar in 2022 in line with global prediction by international experts.

Speaking on “Strategies aimed at cushioning the effect of the covid -19 on the operations of Nigerian insurance industry and the way forward,” the commissioner of insurance, Sunday Thomas, told stakeholders that  National  Insurance Commission (NAICOM) took some critical decision on the heels of the pandemic to meet the challenges posed therefrom. 

According to him,  the commission ensured an increase visibility for the insurance sector and continued to implement effective policyholder protection scheme,  improved internal capacity for assessing emerging risks, incentivized the effective risks  management enablers, monitored degree of customers satisfaction and enhanced insurance education/awareness among other strategic interventions.

To overcome the challenges posed by the global threat and way forward, he said, “At this critical time NAICOM shall ensure risk based capital approach, enhanced investments in digital capabilities and automation, ensure standardization of reports, entrench effective assets and liability management, capacity development programs – actuarial competence framework.

“Establishment of the college of insurance -supervisors of the west Africa monetary zone (CISWAMZ), use of modelling for risk assessment and stress testing, reinforce recovery and resolution plan, cyber insurance poilcy and ensuring context specific products such as loss of job insurance products are offered. No doubt insurance provides succour to individuals and corporate bodies, it’s an essential need of mankind,” he affirmed. 

At the same session,  the president/ Chairman of council-  Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria  (CIIN), Muftau Oyegunle, was in tune with other economic experts who asserted that the growth projections for 2022 revealed the demand for insurance would keep rising worldwide and the industry will be fairly bullish notwithstanding concerns about the potential effects of COVID-19 variants. 

Oyegunle quoted Swiss Reinsurance Institute which stated (for the first time in history) that “Global insurance premiums will exceed $7 trillion by mid-2022.” 

His words: “The National Budget, the fiscal and monetary policy of the Government, the covid-19 and others all impacted on the Insurance sub-sector of the economy, hence the need for us to reposition our self going forward. There is need to create more awareness of the sector as there lies huge untapped potentialities therein. 

“There are more to explore in the sector, we remain optimistic this year in terms for growth projection which shall come through innovative offerings – Products and services,” he envisaged. 

On his part, the President/ chairman of governing board of NCRIB, ROTIMI EDU, implored the federal and state government to check insurance racketeers whose activities has caused more than damage in the system. 

Edu charged Vehicle Inspection Service (VIS) to see this as a clarion call and increase its enforcement strategies to include Insurance Certificate in such a way that motorists without genuine Motor Insurance Certificate should be made to face sanctions as stipulated in the law. 

“Our economy continues to drag because we are not paying attention to the issue of insurance. It was recently reported that Nigeria Insurance Industry loses over N160 billion yearly to fake motor insurance racketeer. 

“It is disheartening to note that an industry which had been contributing less than one per cent to the gross domestic product, in spite of its huge potentials, loses such whopping amount of money to fake vendors who contribute nothing to the growth of the nation.” 

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