By Rukayat Adeyemi
The newly inaugurated Chairman of the Nigeria Insurers Association (NIA), Mr Olusegun Omosehin, has pledged to expand the frontiers of insurance through partnerships and stakeholders’ engagement.
Omosehin made the promise at his investiture as the 25th chairman of NIA in Lagos on Wednesday night.
He said his administration would focus on key strategic areas such as market discipline, market development and respect for market agreements.
“During my tenure, we will collaborate with all players to enforce market discipline among member companies.
“As a self-regulatory organisation, the association works through the peer pressure to promote best practice among operators.
“We will work very hard as leaders of the association to build trust and lead by example, so that some of the issues relating to soft market practices and general indiscipline are promptly dealt with.
“We shall ensure adherence to high ethical standards for our market which has been the pillars upon which the association was formed,” he said.
According to him, the association under his watch will ensure enforcement of compulsory insurance through effective collaboration with relevant agencies, implement progressive market development initiatives and agreements and explore new areas of collaboration.
Omosehin noted that NIA would collaborate with the regulatory community particularly its primary regulator, National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) on regulations such as Risk-Based Supervision, among others.
He said the association would work with all stakeholders to bring more into the insurance net by actively pursuing awareness campaigns and publicity project under the auspices of the Insurers’ Committee.
The NIA Chairman said the association would also explore training opportunities to build capacity in critical areas of the insurance business.
“We need to invest in human capital across the industry, embrace talent that would be beneficial to our core objective.
“We need to grow our talent pool from within and embrace openness in our industry. We shall partner in building actuarial capacity for the overall benefit of the market,” he said.
Omosehin mentioned that the country was faced with security challenges and contending with the after-effects of climate change such as flooding and related risks.
He stated that the association would learn from other markets that had the requisite experience in these areas of insurance business to improve its underwriting practices in critical areas.
Omosehin sought the support and cooperation of other key stakeholders including NAICOM, the Nigeria Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) and the Institute of Loss Adjusters of Nigeria (ILAN).
He the association would also partner the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN), Association of Registered Insurance Agents of Nigeria (ARIAN), among others, to achieve a prosperous insurance industry.
“Let me assure NAICOM that we shall work closely with them in all areas, particularly in unpacking solutions that work for a developing market like Nigeria, and in ensuring compliance with all extant regulations that will promote the growth and development of our industry.
“I promise to work closely with other stakeholders including the government to maximise the benefits derivable from the provisions of the Insurance Act 2003 and other related legislations,” he said. (NAN)
