Amaka Obiefuna

To ensure that trust and credibility are upheld in the Nation’s insurance market, the Nigerian Insurance Association (NIA) has launched a 10-year industry plan in a recent insurance conference organised by the Nigeria Insurance Commission (NAICOM) in Abuja.

Chairman of NIA, Mr. Olusegun Omosehin, disclosed this while briefing the Nigeria Association of Insurance and Pension Editors (NAIPE) in Lagos last week, saying that the launch which was attended by all stakeholders in the industry was imperative to address the challenge of public mistrust that had prevailed in the insurance sub-sector.

According to him, NIA had gone far in ensuring that insurance customers register their complaints with claims through the contacts and emails provided by the association, adding that responses from the public in this regard has been encouraging.

He explained: “The beauty of that plan is that it was a programme that cut across several levels or layers of hard work. We engaged a consultant, KPMG and they worked with us.

“One of the major challenges we faced in the industry has been the issue of public mistrust, so to speak, around the concept of insurance and insurance operation as an industry. We looked at what we should be doing aside from just educating the public, to also embark on specific initiatives that bring trust and guarantee some level of credibility to the market.

“We decided as an Association to make publications in the national dailies. Though we know some might view this negatively, we are looking at the positive side of it. I think about three publications have been made currently calling on the general public who have had claims in the past to go and talk to their underwriters.

“As an Association, we have been bold enough to call on the public to come forward and make valid claims on our members, but we have not had situations where members will not respond.

“We can as an Association address the issue of claims and assist claimants get their claims. This is a major area we are focusing on, and it will move us to the next level.”

On the issue of improving communication and cohesion in the association, Omosehin said NIA put its house in order by creating a platform where it can brief the CEOs on a regular basis about developments in the Insurance Industry.

He said the programme is meant to keep members abreast of what the Association is currently doing and also hear concerns from members. He announced that the programme has yielded a lot, positively in terms of bringing members together as an industry.

The NIA Chairman also announced that the association has made an improvement on the third-party motor insurance as it has been able to combine this policy with the ECOWAS Brown Card cover.

Currently once a third party motor insurance is issued, it automatically has ECOWAS Brown Card, a new initiative according to him, that has helped the country to meet its major obligation and as signatory to the ECOWAS Treaty.

Omosehin also raised the key challenge of the data not being readily available to the insured public. However, he said the industry has always had the NIA digest in hard copy, which according to him has changed as NIA is currently converting the NIA digest into digital platform.

Making further disclosures, Omosehin said NIA was collaborating with NAICOM and the federal agencies that are responsible for enforcement to assist the association in the enforcement of insurance of public buildings and buildings under construction.

He stressed that 70 per cent to 80 per cent of public buildings and buildings under construction were not insured.

In view of this, he said a committee has been inaugurated, while some work has begun. “NIA is actually involved in that initiative. It will involve all the key stakeholders in the building industry.

“We are making some progress, but some more work needs to be done. We are getting cooperation from the Federal Ministry of Works, Housing, and the enforcement agencies. Success in this area will have significant effects on the Insurance Industry.”

Omosehin expressed joy over the tremendous impact made from the association’s current public education and awareness campaign on various radio and television stations, saying that this has changed the way the public now perceived insurance.

He said the amazing result has encouraged NIA to continue the programme, which has now become weekly.

“We intend to continue the programme for the benefit of the industry. In terms of sustaining the awareness, we will continue the awareness campaign to complement our efforts in the national dallies.”