By Ginika Okoye/Rukayat Adeyemi
The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) says technology adoption and digital solutions by insurance companies will facilitate claims payment to policyholders.
The Head, Information Technology, NAICOM, Mr Abiodun Aribike, said this at the 2022 retreat for financial journalists organised by the Commission in Uyo on Friday.
Aribike said that technology adoption in insurance would help improve the number of people keying into the products.
He also said that there was a need for insurance companies to explore new and multiple channels of distributing insurance to reach new segments of the market.
Aribike listed the multi distribution channels of insurance to include web aggregators, company apps and electronic commerce sites.
According to him, to increase access to insurance, companies need to automate their processes.
“What customers demand in insurance is simplicity, transparency, ease of use, speed personalisation and quality.
”That must be in place through technology and it will enhance easier access to products.
”Digital age has given rise to increasing customer expectations. It is time to walk in customers shoes and view the business from their point of view,” he said.
Also, Mr Pius Agboola, Director, Inspectorate, NAICOM, in a lecture titled ‘Risk-Based Supervision (RBS) Implementation: The NAICOM Perspective,’ said that RBS entailed carrying out regulatory activities with a risk focus for efficiency.
Agboola said that RBS was a deployment of resources where it mattered most in an organisation and focusing on the risks of the organisation.
He said that the aim of modern insurance supervision was to identify problem early, act promptly and apply effective intervention.
Agboolw said that any company that did not underwrite stood the chance of paying heavy claims.
Dr Barineka Thompson, the Director, Supervision Directorate of NAICOM, said the insurance sector recorded positive growth during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thompson said that major growth and drivers in 2021 non-life insurance were oil and gas, fire and motor insurances while the drivers for life were individual and group life insurance.
”Insurance sector has been resilient and largely stable during the COVID-19 periods,” he said.
Earlier, NAICOM’S Deputy Commissioner, Technical, Alhaji Sabiu Abubakar, said the Commission had strived to align its operations to be technologically oriented and modernise the market.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the theme of the retreat is: ‘Improving Insurance Access Through Market Development and Innovation in 2022 and Beyond’. (NAN)
