Saturday, 7 June 2014

Expect tougher regulations, NAICOM tells insurance operators

By Chris Agabi, Kigali Hits: 53

Infractions by underwriting firms, insurance brokers and other operators in the insurance industry will not be treated with levity as the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) said the industry will witness strict regulatory environment henceforth.

The Commissioner for Insurance Mr. Fola Daniel told journalists yesterday at the sidelines of the 41st African Insurance Organisation (AIO) Conference and General Assembly holding in Kigali, Rwanda that the days of petting operators are over and that they should brace up to face the new regulatory regime.
"Our regulatory environment is still emerging but we are not there yet. We can’t compare ourselves to Europe and America but we are reasonably compliant", he said.
He said NAICOM would implement the law governing insurance in Nigeria full scale, adding "We have been soft in the past three years just to nurture the industry because of where we were coming from."
He said: "We were not too harsh because we wanted to grow the industry, but now we intend to be more strict. Standards and Poor says Nigeria insurance industry is under regulated but the operators are saying they are over regulated."
On the theme of the conference, "Insurance in Africa -The Importance of Technology, Research and Development", he said that technology is indeed critical in driving micro insurance and reducing the cost of doing nuance business.
He said with insurance operators and telecommunications companies partnering to provide micro insurance in Nigeria, the future is bright for insurance growth in the country.




Source Daily Trust

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