The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has reiterated its commitment to protect consumers and operators of insurance policies in the country.
Mr Mohammed Kari, Commissioner for Insurance, NAICOM, made the commitment at a seminar for Insurance Correspondents in Abuja.
“As a regulator, we cannot shy away from our responsibility which is to protect the shareholder, consumers and every stake holder, including the interest of the operators,’’ Kari said.
Commenting on the importance of Tier Based Minimum Solvency Capital (TBMSC), Kari urged that the concept be embraced as it would help Nigeria’s insurance industry attain its position in the world.
The commissioner said the insurance industry was at a cross road of failure or survival but expressed optimism that the TBMSC would help build confidence of policy holders in the country.
“What NAICOM has done in this policy is to guide operators to understand the brackets of operation which is the core of risk-based supervision, which the components have already been fully implemented.
“It will determine the class of business they will do based on the capital they have, that is having qualified to the minimum requirement.
“This policy will guide the operators, consolidate what we have done in the code of governance; policies and guideline submission and ensure that the insurance sector in Nigeria economy does not suffer when the next financial crisis will come.’’
On the recent court order restraining NAICOM from continuing implementation of the TBMSC, Kari said the commission was yet to receive any court order to that effect.
Justice Muslim Hassan of the Federal High Court Lagos had given a directive that NAICOM should put a hold on its proposed minimum solvency capital policy.
NAICOM on Aug. 27, through a circular, informed insurance firms that their operations would now be reclassified into tiers.
The policy was supposed to take effect from Jan.1, 2019 but was brought back by the commission to October 2018. (NAN)
