Insurance Brokers Tasked on Strategies for Consistent Policies

The Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB), has been charged to evolve strategies that will enhance policy consistency and sustainability in the insurance sub sector of the economy.

The Cross River State Governor, Professor Benedict Ayade, who gave the charge, while declaring open the 2017 Chief Executive Officers’ Retreat of the Council held in Calabar Cross River State, said policy consistency was the key to multi-sectoral development of the Nigerian economy.

“As decision makers and managers of critical sectors of our national economy, I charge the Council to come up with strategies that will enhance policy consistency and sustainability in the insurance sub sector as this is the key to multi-sectoral development”, the governor said.

He also urged the Council to come up with workable and more proactive measures that would tackle the many problems militating against the insurance sector.

Ayade assured the brokers that as a state that is propelled by the spirit of enterprise, the state government would establish partnership with the NCRIB, to ensure the attainment of set objectives.

The governor, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Barrister Tina Agbor, underscored the understanding of the state government about the critical importance of insurance to all the state’s developmental goals.

“We fully understand the critical importance of insurance to all of our developmental goals and while creating the enabling environment for businesses and other forms of investment to thrive, we shall key in appropriately by taking up insurance policies to cover our investments across the state”, he added.

Also speaking at the retreat, the Commissioner for Insurance, Alhaji Mohammed Kari, enjoined the NCRIB Council to use the opportunity of the retreat to brainstorm on the workable modalities to tackle the issue of poor acceptance of insurance products among the Nigerian populace.

According to him, the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) and NCRIB are partners in ensuring insurance penetration, decrying the general attitude of Nigerians to insurance products, especially the six compulsory insurance products.

The Commissioner, who was represented by the Deputy Commissioner for Insurance, Technical, Mr. Sunday Thomas urged Insurance Brokers to improve on service delivery to reduce existing gap by creating additional intermediaries to complement the existing ones, whose interest have been put into consideration in the guidelines to be released.

According to him, the Commission, would partner with Cross River State Government and other State Government of the federation to ensure enforcement of compulsory insurances, stressing that NAICOM would appreciate contributions on how to move the industry forward.

In his address, President of the Council, Mr. Kayode Okunoren, noted that the choice of the retreat theme, ‘Possibilities! Possibilities! Possibilities!’ was apt and deliberate in view of the challenges facing the nation and its economy.

Okunoren said that the indices available revealed that the nation’s economy was gradually coming out of recession stressing that the current Nigeria’s state of economy which had been described as the most severe downturn in the last 25 years has past the worst.