Anxiety as brokers embark on reform

Anxiety as brokers embark on reform

Chuks Udo Okonta

This may not be best of time for brokers operating without statutory requirements as the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance brokers (NCRIB) have embarked on reforms to sanitise the sector.

Some of the brokers have over the years operated with adhering to the provisions of the law, this the NCRIB said it will no long tolerate as it is poised to weed out charlatans who portray the sector in bad light.

President NCRIB Mrs Laide Osijo, Inspen that the council has adopted some measures to ensure that only competent professionals operate in the brokerage sector. She noted that the council is collaborating with the National Insurance Commission to ensure that brokers operate within the provisions of the law.

She said: “In view of the need to affirm the provisions of the NCRIB Act on registration of insurance brokers and eliminate the existence of charlatans from the insurance broking profession, NAICOM has continued to play complementary roles to the NCRIB in this area. The commission has formally forward a circular to all brokers operating with NAICOM licence but without NCRIB registration certificates to normalise their records with the council, immediately. Further to this, the council has also forward written circulars to all those affected to comply with the directive to avoid embarrassment as the council would soon publish the names of all its members in some national dailies, in adherence to the law.  The position of the law is that enlistment of an insurance broker with the NCRIB is a condition precedent to licensing by NAICOM, but regretfully some companies have brazenly flouted this provision for quite sometime.”

Osijo noted that in consonance with the need to affirm and take advantage of section 5 and 6 of the NCRIB Act, the council will be embarking on re-certification of its associate members, adding that the council is also considering the creation of a window of opportunities for members to raise their status.

She said the council has also intensified efforts to resolve the row between brokers and underwriters generated by commission on group life. She noted that the leadership of both bodies are presently discussing with a view to arriving at a point of consensus for the benefit of the industry. She said the industry’s regulator is also playing active role towards the resolution of the issue.

 “The issue of reduction of commission accruing to brokers on group life policies has for sometimes generated some unease between the underwriters and brokers. I delighted to note that the leadership of the NIA and NCRIB are discussing the issue, with a view to arriving at a point of consensus, for the benefit of the entire industry,” she said.