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From
left: President Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN) Bola Temowo and
Deputy Lady Isioma Chukwuma at the event.
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PROTOCOLS
It affords me great delight in welcoming you to the 2014 Education Seminar of our great Institute. This being the 42nd edition, the Education Seminar has become a regular feature in the calendar of our Institute while also engendering a veritable platform for the continuous education of members across the Country.
Permit me to reiterate also that the rotation of hosting of the Seminar amongst the Chapters of the Institute commands immense significance, especially in conferring a high level of responsibility on the Chapters for ensuring the mass participation of members in their jurisdiction. The Benin/ Edo Chapter, host of this year’s edition, hosted the seminar last in 2003 i.e. eleven years ago. The Governing Council acknowledges the painstaking efforts of the Chairman and Executive members of the Chapter in the provision of adequate support for a hitch- free Seminar.
The Seminar Theme: "Maximizing Channels of Distribution for Insurance Penetration" is aptly geared at x-raying the potentials of the Insurance market, taking cognissance of the need to re-tool the mechanisms for products and services distribution in order to achieve the growth potentials of the Industry.
It is envisaged that the current record of Nigeria’s insuring population would receive a boost and improve the Industry’s profile in global ranking. Available records indicate that 86.6 Million Nigerians have no form of Insurance, while 1.3 Million adults, representing 1.5 per cent of the entire Nigerian adult population maintain some category of formal Insurance cover. The Nigerian Government envisions an Insurance Industry which can turn its fortunes around to rank amongst the twenty largest markets in the world by the year 2020 from the current ranking of being the 60th in the World reckoning.
The Seminar Theme therefore calls for the improvement of the Industry’s marketing machinery and the need for an Industry action plan for actualizing the Financial Inclusion Strategy (FIS) in the delivery of Insurance products and services to the critical mass, comprising the low income earners. The seminar focuses on the maximization of existing and emerging channels of distribution as key to achieving deeper Insurance Penetration.
The significance of Insurance in the life of our Nation cannot be over emphasized. These trying times are fraught with several risk factors for both individuals and Corporate bodies. As risk managers, it behoves us to increase the tempo of our campaigns for Insurance awareness in order to get more Nigerians to embrace Insurance with minimal compulsion.
The Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria has continued to explore all platforms for the propagation of Insurance education and promotion of general Financial literacy. Our training and retraining programmes are being intensified, while creating new channels for capturing the younger generation and ensuring that they embrace Insurance consciously as a course of study. It is in this direction that our Institute sponsored the production of the Insurance Textbook for Secondary Schools and has commenced the donation of copies of the book to over 2000 Public Secondary Schools in the Country through the State Ministries of Education. The Institute also acknowledges the dearth of Insurance teachers in the Schools and embarked on a Train- the –Trainers project in order to equip the teachers with the minimal skills for teaching the subject. This serves as a reinforcement of the inclusion of Insurance as a course of study in Secondary Schools by the Federal Government.
Let me state that the campaign for Insurance awareness has become the collective concern of the entire Insurance Industry. The Insurance Industry Consultative Council (IICC), the body comprising all arms of the Industry, has also taken positive steps towards sensitizing Government Agencies on the pivotal role of Insurance in Nationhood. The Council of our Institute has also adopted measures geared at involving all stakeholders in the campaign. We have recently been appealing to Insurance Institutions to adopt a Secondary or Tertiary Institution close to them and support such Institutions with their employees as volunteer teachers who would take time off their official schedules to teach Insurance courses in the Schools.
I wish to seize this opportunity in appealing to the Edo State Government to see the Insurance Industry as a worthy partner in progress. Adequate Insurance coverage of Government assets on a yearly basis cannot be overemphasized. Let me also state that the No- Premium- No Cover regulatory requirement, places a burden of responsibility on the parties to the contract of Insurance to ensure that all Insurances are in force through prompt payment of premium.
No effort can be too much in this collective quest for increased Insurance consciousness in our Nation. The 2014 Education Seminar is therefore a call for all hands to be on deck in the actualization of the awareness campaign. We are privileged to have Chief Yemi Soladoye as the theme speaker and will benefit immensely from his wealth of experience. We welcome Chief Soladoye and the team of experienced panelists who will x-ray the issues emanating from the theme paper.
Distinguished Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen, we are here in the serenity of Best Western Homeville Hotel in Benin- City, Edo State for a rewarding exchange of net-worth experiences. Let me end by urging all participants to take active part in the deliberations.
Thank you for your attention and God bless.BOLA TEMOWO, FCII, FIIN
President/ Chairman of Council
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