By Ebere Nwoji
The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), has been urged to upgrade the minimum capital base of insurance booking firms from the current N5 million to N50 million. The insurance brokers on their part have been challenged to achieve the highest level of professionalism and dedication to service delivery to the public who rely on them for provision of comfort.
The Chairman, Heirs holding, the parent body for Heirs group of Insurance firms, Mr Tony Elumelu, gave the advise while delivering a key note address at the 60th year anniversary of the Nigeria Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB), held in Lagos.
Elumelu whose insurance firms; Heirs life, Heirs Insurance and Heirs insurance brokers, currently hold high the flag of digitalisation and redefinition of insurance industry, addressed the brokers on the need to redefine the insurance industry saying “We as an industry need to enforce strict adherence to corporate governance by all NCRIB members.
“The need for the body to weed out non-registered and non-compliant members from its fold. These are the ones tarnishing the image of the broking profession and the industry at large.
“In redefining the practice and practitioners in the broking profession, NCRIB should lead the war against many of the unethical practices that have been the bane of the industry for years.”
“These include premium rate cutting, delayed premium remittance, unremitted premium, overloading of premium, returned premium, fake documents, fraudulent claims, collusion to defraud, mis-selling, unhealthy competition, misrepresentations, manipulation of policy conditions, self-enrichment methods disguised as marketing expenses, and many more, ”he stated.
He said while NAICOM continued to play its role as the industry regulator, NCRIB as a body must ensure that appropriate sanctions were imposed on any of its members found using unethical practices. He urged NCRIB and other insurance industry bodies to collaborate more to deepen insurance penetration in Nigeria.
He said, “Where there are differences on issues, such must be resolved as friends and colleagues to protect and preserve the image of the industry. The body should also play a key role in government advocacy for pro-insurance laws and policies.”
In the area of innovation, the Heirs holding boss said the industry could benefit from innovation across all phases of the service, adding that for this to happen, there was the need to reward and incentivise innovation across the industry.
He also advised the entire insurance industry to benchmark against global trends, pointing out that the starting point for innovation in the broking arm of the industry was retail insurance development.
Originally published at Punch