NAICOM to underwriters: Move away from finding reasons not to pay claims

As part of efforts towards restoration of public confidence in the insurance sector in Nigeria, the new federal Commissioner for Insurance (CfI), Mr. Olusegun Ayo Omosehin has called out underwriting firms to move away from finding excuses for not paying claims, and instead find one reason for claims settlement.

Mr. Olusegun made the plea in Lagos during an interactive session with journalists who are members of the Nigerian Association of Insurance and Pension Editors (NAIPE). Said he, “One key area we are focused on is how to restore public confidence in the insurance sector which is one of the cardinal objectives of the present administration and we are taking this seriously.

“In all of our stakeholders’ meetings, we prioritize it, we make it clear that restoring public confidence in insurance is a mandate of National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) that insurance companies must strive to prioritize.

“Therefore operators should move away from finding reasons for non-settlement of claims and instead find one reason for claims settlement.” The Commissioner observed during the interactive session that there is decline in public confidence in the sector which might not be unconnected with some of the underwriting entities’ inability to meet claims obligations, citing examples in newspaper of publications where some customers were unable to get their annuity paid in good time by some underwriting firms.

He explained that these and other related issues are some of the problems the Commission was dealing with, as some of ailing insurance companies failed to meet their obligations. “We try to manage these issues in order not to disappoint the public or at least reduce the incidents of insurance firms falling into this category,” adding that the reality of all this happening was that NAICOM is in view to getting out of this situation

Omosehin also affirmed during the session that his current motive as the helmsman of NAICOM is to serve the public good and defend the interest of the market or the consumer, to be precise. According to him, “I’m now on the side of the consumer and it is a priority over everything.

Also speaking on his plans towards putting the industry together, Omosehin said the key thing the Commission did at his resumption of duty at the Commission was commenced work by looking internally at what is on the ground in relation to the entire market by holding meetings with the key stakeholders in the industry, including the NIA, in order to see how the Nigerian insurance market has moved over the past one year, adding that a lot has happened.

Weather in manufacturing, service sector or others, the Commissioner affirmed that what the new management of NAICOM has done is put together a vision that has a background. In doing so, he said, a number of initiatives were marked out, and some of them are bearing fruit in NAICOM.

Omosehin also said that the Commission, on assumption of office, has harmonized all of their priorities and came out with five key priorities which speaks to key different elements the Commission want to see in the insurance sector. According to Omosehin, he explained the first is to prioritize consumer interest, and by so doing, he believed, would help rebuild public confidence in the insurance sector.

The second is to strengthen the internal regulatory capacity to regulate without being challenged at the law court. While the third priority has to do with the soundness of the insurance sector, adding that the industry need insurance operators that are financially sound and can meet-up with their obligations. He explained that this involved taking some pre-emptive actions, as well as, conduct proper oversight function on underwriting companies. He said, additional steps may also involve setting a minimum standard for the operators, with the desire to see the insurance industry function optimally.

The fourth priority has said, has to do with issues around innovations. He disclosed that the Commission now has a Directorate that is in charge of innovations. According to the Commissioner, “those are the changes that we have made internally.

‘‘We now have a department that is focused on innovation. We want to invite people to come up with new ideas. We have created a department where an idea can be thrown at us, and we are ready to work with such ideas.”

Finally, the NAICOM Chief also spoke on the issue of accessibility and penetration of insurance and how progress can be made in this direction.

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