NAICOM battles unethical practices

Commissioner for Insurance Fola Daniel

Chuks Udo Okonta

The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) seem to have risen to fight the high rate of unethical practices that have bedevilled the insurance industry, with the release of guidelines to moderate how commissions, rebates and returned  premiums should be handled.

With the guidelines, NAICOM said it has become illegal for any Insurance Institutions to solicit, offer or allow commissions and/or rebates in the transaction of insurance businesses except as provided by the extant Insurance laws and guidelines.

Operators have be barred from henceforth not to solicited, deducted, offered or paid over-Riding Commission, business acquisition fees and other similar fees not provided for by the Nigerian Insurance Laws.

According to NAICOM, an insurer, who grants or receives a rebate, offer, demand, pay or receive commission contrary to Section 53(1)-(3) of the Insurance Act 2003 may, in addition to the penalty prescribed by Sections 53(4) and 76 of the Insurance Act, 2003, shall be liable to other penalties as prescribed.

“Each Insurer shall submit a quarterly return on the rebates, brokerage commission and other fees paid out or payable on all its production during the preceding quarter to the Commission, not later than 14 days from the end of the quarter,” NAICOM said.

An operator Ezekiel Oloriegbe reacting to the new initiative by NAICOM said: "The industry has to be sanitized a bit, or we will all fall together from the activities of the crooks who have infiltrated the industry, and are gradually chasing out the real professionals who are unable to cope with the crookedness now rampant."