NCRIB seeks to tackle insurance broker shortage

The Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers have said that while it is interested in an increase in the number of insurance brokers in the country, it is more interested in having those who are technically sound join the profession.

This was revealed by the Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of the NCRIB, ‘Tope Adaramola, in an exclusive chat with The PUNCH.

Managing Director Peerless Management & Solutions Limited and former Director, National Insurance Commission, Agboola Pius, at the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers Lagos Area Committee 2024 midyear workshop had recently in Lagos, decried the absence of insurance brokers in 16 states – Nasarawa; Niger; Adamawa; Borno; Gombe; Taraba; Yobe; Jigawa; Katsina; Kebbi; Sokoto; Zamfara; Ebonyi; Bayelsa; Cross River and Ekiti.

This is an increase over a 2012 report by Riskguard Africa, which said that insurance brokers were absent in 12 states.

Reacting to this, Adaramola said, “The country needs more numbers of insurance brokers to take care of the insurance needs of Nigeria.  Insurance is a technical profession, and brokers are not something that you can mass produce. Much as we are itching for an increased number that would be able to cover the entire country, we require those who will sell it to be technically savvy. You and I may understand that the bad image that the industry has that we are trying to obliterate came by way of ill-educated people selling insurance in the past.

“And to the public, anyone who comes to them to sell insurance is an insurance professional and if anything goes wrong, then definitely, they will blackwash the industry. So, in trying to produce them in good numbers, more so in brokers, they have to think about the technicality of the profession as well as the precarious liability that you carry.”

He added that the council was working with the National Insurance Commission on registration of new members saying, “NAICOM is doing well because we are working in synergy. There is nothing that NAICOM is doing that is without our knowledge regarding registration which is a heartwarming development.

“There is an aspect of the NCRIB law (NCRIB Act no 21 of 2003) that says registration with NCRIB is a pre-condition for licensing by the National Insurance Commission. That law invariable has tied us together. You must go through us to NAICOM. So, we are strung together in this process of who is expected to be a registered insurance broker. We cannot feign ignorance about the process and so far, it is quite satisfactory. The leadership of NAICOM is adhering strictly to that law and the betterment of the practice and the industry generally.”

Meanwhile, the 15th president of the Professional Insurance Ladies Association, Abimbola Onakomaiya, commenting on the absence of brokers in all states of the federation posited that technology had become an enabler.

She said, “Generally speaking, brokers tend to be concentrated in those places where there is a lot of insurance awareness but because now, there is a lot of digitalisation and technology that is being utilised even by the brokers. Insurance penetration is becoming better, and we are reaching the grassroots.

“So, any of the 36 states, including Abuja, there is none of those states where you do not have brokers represented either traditionally with their physical offices or digitally.”

The Managing Director of Cornerstone Insurance, Stephen Alangbo, said, “While there might be the absence of brokers in those 16 states, I’m sure you have agencies and officials in those states now because of the speciality of the brokers. They are professionals, what Cornerstone is doing is partnering with brokers, training them and putting our products in their hands.

“If the volume of income that they are generating from a state is low, it’s because we don’t have many industries in those states but if they know that they can sell the products to artisans, civil servants, to SMEs around the state, it will be easy for them to set up branches there. I’m very optimistic that very soon, that trend will change.

“The opportunity that is open to insurance in Nigeria is about 200 million population. It is to put those products in the hands of the brokers and partner with them to ensure this vision is achieved. Another thing that you will see is that most brokers concentrate on non-life businesses. We at Cornerstone are trying to change the orientation. When they understand non-life businesses, they will understand that there are businesses in those states and be able to expand to those states.”