Fola Daniel, changing the face of insurance

Fola Daniel, changing the face of insurance Modestus Anaesoronye The name Fola Daniel rings bell in the insurance circle today, meaning ‘watch your back before you act’. It is now a name every operator ruminates over and over because actions and inactions have become more costly than ever. Those seen as untouchable in time past have been touched, and very well too. Driving the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) supervision and regulation, Daniel, unlike never before in the industry, has come to say “things must be done the right way.” Those who mean well for the insurance industry have not ceased to applaud his charismatic courage to correct the ills in the sector, which have for many years retarded its growth. Testifying to Daniel’s good work in the industry, Justus Uranta, managing director, Niger Insurance, said: “We have not had it so good and it is in the interest of the industry.” Tony Aletor, retiring group managing director, Capital Express Assurance Limited said: “Fola has done a great job for the insurance industry. If we can have two of him, as regulator, going forward, insurance will take its right of place in the country’s financial services sector.” According to Tosin Runsewe, chief client officer, “what the insurance industry needs is stronger regulation… and we will get there.” Daniel, a veteran underwriter and an administrator of high repute, currently leads the management team of the National Insurance Commission. He studied in Nigeria and the United Kingdom. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Insurance Institute, London, the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (FIIN) and the British Institute of Management. Prior to his appointment as Commissioner for Insurance in 2007, Daniel was the managing director of Globe Reinsurance Plc. With experience spanning over 30 years, he has worked in various capacities at senior management level. He was a branch manager and later Northern Area manager of Great Nigeria Insurance Co. Ltd in 1986. In 1989, he joined Globe Reinsurance Plc as Underwriting Manager. He rose to the position of Assistant General Manager (Technical) from where he was appointed by the Federal Government as Executive Director (Operations) of Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC). He was later appointed the managing director/CEO of the Corporation in 1994. During his tenure, the Corporation witnessed a phenomenal change in fortune from a hitherto loss position to a profit making organisation. He returned to Globe Reinsurance Plc as managing director/CEO in 2004 after he successfully completed two-term tenure of 10 years at NAIC. Daniel is a visiting lecturer and a Member of the Governing Board of the West African Insurance Institute, Banjul, The Gambia (WAII), as well as the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN). Source Businessday