NAICOM set to register five micro-insurance firms

Daniel

By Nike Popoola

At least five companies have indicated interest in operating micro-insurance business in the country.

This is coming a week after the inauguration of the micro-insurance guidelines in Lagos.

An investigation by our correspondent on Thursday showed that while two of the interested firms are non-insurance companies, others are already licensed underwriting firms.

The Commissioner for Insurance, Mr. Fola Daniel, who confirmed this to our correspondent, said that the commission would give a no-objection to the firms that applied for the new licence, as long as they met the necessary requirements.

"About two non-insurance firms have expressed interest to have their micro-insurance firms and we are going to give a no-objection to their request," Daniel said.

According to him, Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc had already developed its micro-insurance subsidiary under its group structure and is doing well in the retail business.

The Group Executive Director, Retail, Royal Exchange Plc, Mr. Auwalu Muktari, said the firm had now established a full-fledged micro-insurance company.

To get to the grass roots, he said that the firm realised that it required a robust retail policy.

And in line with the firm’s vision, he said the company had employed an expert, who could fine-tune the retail programme of the group.

The Managing Director, Anchor Insurance Company Limited, Mr. Ademayowa Adeduro, said that the introduction of micro-insurance business in the industry was a good development.

He said that Anchor was interested in getting the micro-insurance licence and would soon conclude the arrangement.

According to the new guidelines introduced by NAICOM, micro-insurance is the type that is accessed by the low income population, provided by the licensed institutions, run in accordance with generally accepted principles, and funded by premiums.

The guidelines stated that all specialised micro-insurers should have a provisional minimum paid-up capital requirement.

While life micro-insurance firms were mandated to have a minimum of N150m, non-life micro-insurance firms should have at least N200m.

As part of efforts to grow the insurance sector, the commission had ensured the enforcement of five out of 16 compulsory policies in the country’s statutory laws.

Source: Punch