Insurance experts call for stricter regulations

Experts in the insurance sector have tasked the Federal Government on the introduction of proactive policies that will create enabling environment for operators and the insuring publics.
To the veterans and insurance brokers, who spoke with The Point, the sector lacked proper regulations that could allow it to compete favourably with its counterparts in both the developing and developed economies.
A former president of the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers, Chief Babajide Olatunde- Agbeja, disclosed that Nigeria was among the few developing nations that lacked basic regulations that could either guide subscribers of insurance policies or operators in the sector.
Like what is obtainable in the Nigerian stock market, he argued that there should be a law in Nigeria that would empower only insurance brokers to place all insurance policies in the country. If it was possible in South Africa and Ghana, among other nations, he believed it should not be difficult to implement in Nigeria.
“A lot of Nigerians are dissatisfied with their settlement offer by insurance companies but could not argue their cases because they had not engaged brokers. Using insurance broking firm guarantees the public good analysis of their portfolio, processing of renewals and claims handling/settlement. The goal of insurance firms is to maximise profit, while brokers offer its protective services at no cost because brokers are not paid by the insuring public. Government should introduce adequate measures in order to create a robust sector and restore insuring publics’ confidence,” he advised.
The General Manager, Boff and Company Insurance, Mr. Kunle Omokemi, frowned at some policies introduced by the National Insurance Commission, arguing that they were capable of having negative effects on the sector.
According to him, asking the chief executive officers of insurance broking firms to step aside after 10 years in office is not a proactive move to build the sector. Though he agreed that the move was to ensure transparency and promote corporate governance among operators, he insisted that such directive could only be practicable in the business conglomerate sector or public liability firms and not in professional sectors like law, engineering and insurance broking firms.
“The older you are, the more mature you become in the system and those wealth of experiences cannot be bought by a new entrant. Nonexecutive directors can retire to allow new ideas to join the board of directors in a public owned firms. We need proactive measures in place to develop the sector and not the ones that will drag us back,” he said.