Amaka Obiefuna

Because any organization that will survive the 21st century must embrace digital transformation, the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) is leveraging on technology and data for the transformation of its processes, drive its regulatory and supervisory functions, increase operational efficiency and improve its corporate outcomes.

NAICOM’s Deputy Director, IT, Abiodun Aribike says NAICOM is undergoing transformation from the inside out and that the target is to ultimately achieve an end to end automation of all its processes
“The Covid 19 Pandemic has accelerated the adoption of digital technologies as companies move their business online, staff work remotely from home and video conferencing and online meetings are part of the new normal. Technology based companies are declaring bumper profit while traditional organizations are laying off staffs and declaring bankruptcy.

Digital Transformation involves different thinking, presents new opportunities, encourages innovation, creates new business processes and models, improves customer experiences and shifts organizational culture

Digital transformation marks a radical rethinking of how an organization uses technology, people and processes to fundamentally change business performance.

The People, Process and Technology Framework is used for organizational transformation and management. To achieve organizational efficiency, there needs to be a balance between the three and a good relationship maintained between them. The Right people to be involved, Right process defined and the Right technology to handle the load.

A balance of the 3 drives actions. It is like a 3 legged stool, if one leg is out of balance, the stool wobbles,” explained Aribike.

Aribike said the Commission has various servers and also enjoy Virtual Provisioning Service (VPS) Servers with Galaxy Backbone Ltd. This provides for high availability and redundancy.

The Commission has also procured an Enterprise Resources Planning (ERP) Software to automate the processes of the Finance and Administration division. An Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is business management software that allows an organization to use a system of integrated applications to manage its business. Its Finance and Account Directorate currently uses Microsoft Dynamics NAV, an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Application which is IFRS Compliant to computerize its General Ledger, Chart of Accounts, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivables, Fixed Assets, Bank Reconciliation, Funds Management, Budgeting, Cash Management, Journals, inventory management etc. The Finance and Account module is fully functional and in use by the Directorate.

NAICOM uses an Electronic Document Management System to store and manage electronic documents and keep images of paper documents in a secure location. It has a workflow system built into it. This software helps the Commission control and manage access to important official documents, maintain restricted access to confidential documents, reduces the time and efforts taken to locate documents, reduce loss of documents and provide safe storage and backup of all documents in a secure location or library.

In line with the commitment of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) of using information technology to drive the supervision, regulation and governance of insurance business in Nigeria, it has developed the NAICOM Portal to provide a direct interface with the industry to ensure greater accountability and transparency.

The NAICOM Portal is a digital platform that is designed to drive the core business processes of the Nigeria Insurance Industry with the attendance benefits of Service efficiency with quick turn around time, Eradication of fake insurance policies, Improved Public Trust and Confidence in Insurance, Deepened Insurance Penetration, Access to statistical data of the Insurance Industry, Streamlined approval processes for registration and renewal of Licenses etc.

The digital Platform will provide a single point of Contact between NAICOM and the Insurance Industry. The NAICOM Portal comprises of the Insurance Policy System, the Licensing System and the Regulatory and Financial Returns system.

The Insurance Policy System captures  ALL insurance policies issued in Nigeria. The Licensing System automates the Core Business Processes of Registration/Renewal of Licenses, New Product, AIP & Attestation Approvals.

Aribike said the Regulatory and Financial Returns System is still at the Conception Phase. The three basic ways for recording Insurance Policy on the NAICOM Portal are Record a Single Policy, Record Policies In Bulk and Record Policy through Web-Service/API.  The Licensing system has been designed to automate the core business processes at NAICOM involving Registration & Renewal of Licenses, Approval for New Product, Approval in Principle and Attestation approvals.

All of these processes will proceed in the portal environment from the application stage where all supporting documents are provided, to the review phase, the approval phase and license generation where applicable. The Regulatory and Financial Returns systems, currently in the conception phase, provides the platform for the submission of all Insurance Industry Regulatory returns and compliance electronically. The Financial Analysis module of it aims to automate financial analysis, credit control functions, computation of levies, and provide adequate and timely information to support management decision making.

The system will provide a database which will serve as a central repository for current and historical financial information about the Insurers, Re-insurer, Brokers and Loss Adjusters for regulatory purposes and general information dissemination.

The Commission has a Contact Center which serves as a focal point from which all insurance stakeholders can get answers to requests, complaints, enquiries and receive support. The contact center include an online call center along with other types of customer contact such as e-mail, postal mail catalogs, web site Enquiries, chats and the collection and supply of beneficial information to and from consumers of insurance services.

NAICOM is also about to procure a Complaints Management System that will serve as a platform to manage end to end complaints management process. This will help in handling, managing, responding to, and reporting to stakeholder complaints. The Software will also help streamline the approach and provide constant monitoring to ensure faster resolutions. This will enhance stakeholders’ satisfaction, increase claims payment and deepen the insurance penetration.

In its efforts at enhancing the competitiveness of the sector, it is essential that the industry delivers services in ways that brings benefits to consumers of insurance services.  The Commission is facilitating the standard of ICT infrastructure to support the security and safety of Insurance operations and data management.

NAICOM has prepared an ICT guideline to be used as a minimum standard for the computerization of operations in the insurance sector. The guidelines will form part of future requirements for conducting insurance business in Nigeria.

Some of the objectives of the Nigeria Insurance Industry ICT Guideline are to establish a minimum baseline for insurance policy data management practices within the industry, aid the establishment of inter-operable ICT systems for easy exchange of data between the commission and insurance companies and improve connectivity and establish secured environment for data processing.