Brokers contribute 70% of Nigeria’s insurance businesses – NAICOM boss

The Commissioner for Insurance, Olusegun Omosehin, has said over 70 per cent of insurance businesses recorded annually were contributed by insurance brokers.

Mr Omosehin, also the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), said this in a statement made available on Friday in Lagos.

He was presenting the outcome of a courtesy visit by a delegation of the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) led by its President, Babatunde Oguntade, to the commissioner recently.

He said the visit underscored the pivotal place insurance brokers occupied in the nation’s insurance ecosystem.

According to him, this necessitated the commission’s intention to further strengthen and support its regulatory body so that it could effectively discharge its self-regulatory functions.

Mr Omosehin said that the commission was ready to maximise the brokers’ vantage points and drive the desired industry growth initiatives under its new leadership.

The NAICOM boss said the insurance industry had the potential to play a catalytic role in buoying the nation’s economy.

He said that the industry’s current contributions to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product must be enhanced to earn the industry its desired position within the nation’s financial ecosystem.

Mr Omosehin said that the commission had been restructured into new directorates to meet the need for effective regulation of the ever-evolving insurance industry.

“The commission regulates professionals who operate in the private sector, and as such must adapt itself to the dynamism and dynamics of the sector for effective regulation,” he said.

Responding, the NCRIB President, Babatunde Oguntade, applauded the new leadership and management of NAICOM.

Mr Oguntade said that the council was in tune with the innovative and progressive initiatives being berthed in the commission to deepen insurance growth in the country.

He pledged NCRIB’s support in mobilising insurance brokers’ contributions to improve the insurance industry’s performance.

According to him, this is also in compliance with Anti Money Laundering and Countering Financing Terrorism (AMCFT) law, with a view to removing the country from the unenviable gray list.

Mr Oguntade stated that the council had strengthened its internal disciplinary organs to ensure the enforcement of required high ethical standards and discipline amongst its members.

He said that by so doing, NCRIB would play up its self-regulatory roles to complement the efforts of NAICOM in ensuring sanity in the insurance market.

(NAN)