NAICOM prepares insurers for risk based supervision

Chuks Udo Okonta 

The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has organised a seminar to increase the level of awareness of insurance operators in readiness for smooth implementation of Risk Based Supervision (RBS) in full scale.

Deputy Commissioner Technical NAICOM Mahammed Kari at the seminar hosted by Munich Re Africa in Lagos, said this is coming on the backdrop of arrangement that has been concluded by the Commission for the adoption of RBS approach to the supervision of insurance and reinsurance Companies in Nigeria.

He said the Commission is saddled with the responsibilities of ensuring effective administration, supervision, regulation and control of insurance business in Nigeria as provided in Part II, Section 6 of National Insurance Commission Act of 1997. Just as the financial system has evolved, so too has the supervisory framework. 

"We believe that a sound regulatory and supervisory system is necessary for maintaining a fair, safe and stable insurance sector for the benefit and or protection of the interests of stakeholders, as well as promote stability of the financial system.

"In its earlier forms, supervisory approaches tended to be ‘compliance-based’, aimed mainly at ensuring compliance with the rules laid down for financial soundness and the conduct of business. 

"The risks associated with compliance-based approaches are that they may lead to excessive focus on observed non-compliance and to insufficient understanding of key business drivers and flaws in risk management practices of insurers. 

"However an element of compliance monitoring is necessary in any supervisory approach to ensure that essential minimum standards are met and that the overall regulatory and supervisory regime has credibility," he said.

He urged operators not to see the RBS as the regulator trying to introduce or push a new concept down their throats, but as a opportunity to imbibe the culture of risk based management.

Kari noted that under the RBS regime, operators are expected to instilled, awareness and risk management culture; board and management commitment; corporate governance practices; internal audit and control; relevant information technology infrastructure; financial analysis; risk management practices and model; effective compliance function; regulatory reporting and compliance; training on an on- going basis and collaboration.

He said over the years the provision of Insurance service has developed to sophistication level beyond the imagination of the early practitioners. Coupled with other external risks and incidences the profession has had to evolve as fast to continue to survive and be relevant, stressing that uninformed observers have created an impression that too many changes are coming to the profession too frequently, but individuals, company’s and market’s experiences would confirm that survival have been the biggest driver.

SA Insurance, SA Life to merge into composite company

Chuks Udo Okonta

Following a deliberate and strategic decision to play a leading role in the nation’s insurance sector, the boards of SA Insurance Plc and SA Life Assurance Limited have approved the merger of both companies to form a frontline composite insurance company.

According to the organisations’ spokesman, Mr. Nelson Egboboh who disclosed this to our Correspondent yesterday in Lagos, the boards’ corporate decision of combining the existing strengths of both companies was spurred by their desire to “create a bigger and financially strong composite insurance company with stronger capacity to serve its various clients and play a more dominant role in the insurance sector.”

He disclosed that the corporate action was further being taken with a focus on “delivering superior returns to the shareholders, provide much higher level of satisfactory service to our clients and to save cost of operations.”

He explained that to give the merger plan the necessary regulatory backing, “the management has applied for and secured a “no objection consent” from the National Insurance Commission, NAICOM,” noting further that in line with market procedures and pursuant to Rule 228 (ii) of the Investment and Securities Act 1999, the Management has also notified the Nigerian Stock Exchange of the development.

He noted that the companies are engaging the services of appropriate financial and merger experts to drive the transactions, stating that “it is our plan to complete the process before the end of the third quarter of this year.” 

Egboboh assured that “the composite company to emerge will continue to build on the success of the transaction in the months to come, providing more innovative products and delivering on its promises to clients,” noting that “with the company’s formidable management team as well as its professional and result-oriented workforce, the company was sure of achieving its set merger goals.”

He explained that SA Insurance Plc which became quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in 2003 currently has a shareholders’ funds of N4.7bn and asset base of N8.8bn while its affiliate company, SA Life Assurance Limited has a Shareholders’ Fund of N2.1bn and a total asset base of N6.9bn.

According to him, “with a combined asset base of N15.7bn after merger and a joint gross production of N8.41bn achieved as at 31st December, 2013, the future couldonly be better for the organization and its clients as the company would be in a much superior position of strength to play dominantly to attract a higher percentage market-share and to further respond to claims’ issues much faster than we have been doing before now.”

Obah former CIIN Director retires in grand style

From left: Deputy President Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria Lady Isioma Chukwuma presenting gifts to Former Director Corporate Communications CIIN Joseph Obah, Mrs Obah and Director-General Kola Ahmed at Obah's retirement party in Lagos. Chuks Udo Okonta 

For the former Director Corporate Communications Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN) Joseph Obah, it was all encomium as friends, colleagues and relatives gathered today to honoured him with a sent-forth as he retires having served the institute for 25 years.

Guest at the event which held at Nigerian Council of Registered Brokers (NCRIB) Auditorium in Lagos took their turns to eulogies the former Director for his immersed contributions to the institute and the Insurance industry.

Chuks Okonta

4 mins · 

Chief Executive Officer Academy of Learning, Elma Hancock; President Chartered Insurance institute of Nigeria (CIIN) Bola Temowo; Retired Director Corporate Communications, Joseph Obah; his wife and Director-General Kola Ahmed at Obah's retirement party in Lagos.

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The President of the CIIN Bola Temowo said: "Permit me to say that Joseph Obah is unarguably one of the pillars of the secretariat of our great Institute. We acknowledge, in particular, the roles you played along with your contemporaries in laying the solid foundations upon which the Institute’s secretariat stands today. We appreciate your immense contributions to the actualization of the objectives for establishing the Institute.

"It will interest you all to know that, tomorrow 25th April, 2015, Mr. Obah will mark his 60th Birthday, even though his young looks belies his age. It will also interest you to know that Mr. Obah’s sorjourn in the Institute began at a period when the Institute was in the process of attaining its Charter status which was finally gotten in 1993.

"The Obah we are celebrating today is what we can refer to as a firebrand, a man of many talents; which has been harnessed over the years to the benefit and growth of the Institute. An astute Events Manager, an Orator, a Speech Writer per excellence, A Public Relations Expert, A Publisher and Editor with superb Crisis Management skills, an Astute Administratorand most notably, a genius MC and Compere"

He noted that Obah is  leaving the Institute in a much stronger position than he met it, adding that he believed that is the goal of every human being.

The Director-General kola Ahmed, lauded Obah's contributions in major events undertaken during his tenure. He urged him to sustain the good records he has made.

Deputy Executive Secretary NCRIB Tope Adaramola, lauded Obah's contributions in the laundering the public image of the industry, adding that the operators would miss him greatly.

He also called on operators to ensure the wealth of experience he had gathered over the years is tapped by engaging in as a master of ceremony a field he has taken to lofty heights.

Royal Exchange gives health insurance, educational materials to school of the blind

Chuks Udo Okonta

Royal Exchange Plc, Nigeria’s leading insurance and other financial services provider, as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) recently provided free health insurance to the staff and pupils of the Pacelli School of the Blind & Partially Sighted Children for a 1-year period at the first instance and also donated educational learning aids to the pupils of the school. 

Speaking during the official presentation of health insurance certificates and the educational materials to the school, the Group Managing Director, Royal Exchange Plc, Chike Mokwunye, said that in Royal Exchange Plc, “one of the main objectives of our corporate social responsibility is to impart knowledge and assist the less privileged in the society, whenever the need arises, and as a responsible corporate citizen, we must be willing to offer a helping hand to those in society who need the support to become better citizens tomorrow”. 

He further added, “As children who already are at a disadvantage due to no faults of theirs, our aim is to make sure they learn valuable vocational and educational skills which in turn would make them more that capable of leading normal lives as responsible citizens who can fend for themselves and not be dependent on the larger society for any form of assistance”. 

 Mokwunye also commended the Principal, teaching and other ancillary staff of the Pacelli School for their humanitarian efforts in ensuring the students have the best education available to them. 

Speaking while receiving the educational materials and health insurance cover of behalf of the staff and pupils of the School, the Principal, Rev. Sis. Jane Onyeneri, (HHCJ) thanked Royal Exchange Plc for coming to the aid of the staff and more importantly, the pupils, through the provision of Writing Frames, Mobility Frames, Stylus and other recreational materials which would enhance the learning of the students. 

"The offer of health insurance to all the pupils of the school, including the teaching and non-teaching staff is a noble gesture which will go a long way in ensuring that the students and staff are in the best of health throughout the year, while the students will also make good use of the learning and mobility tools provided by Royal Exchange," she said.

The GMD, Royal Exchange Plc was accompanied during the presentation by Richard Borokini, Managing Director, Royal Exchange General Insurance Company and Wilson Okoh-Esene, Ag. Head, Corporate Communication, Royal Exchange Plc. 

ADDRESS BY MR BOLA TEMOWO, PRESIDENT/CHAIRMAN OF COUNCIL, CHARTERED INSURANCE INSTITUTE OF NIGERIA, DURING THE SEND-FORTH LUNCHEON IN HONOUR OF MR JOSEPH OBAH ON FRIDAY 24TH APRIL, 2015 IN THE EVENTS CENTRE OF NCRIB.

PROTOCOLS

It affords me great privilege and honour to welcome you to this occasion in honour of Mr. Joseph Obah on his retirement from the services of the Institute after 25 years of selfless and meritorious service.

Permit me to say that Mr. Joseph Obah is unarguably one of the pillars of the secretariat of our great Institute. We acknowledge, in particular, the roles you played along with your contemporaries in laying the solid foundations upon which the Institute’s secretariat stands today. We appreciate your immense contributions to the actualization of the objectives for establishing the Institute.

It will interest you all to know that, tomorrow 25th April, 2015, Mr. Obah will mark his 60th Birthday, even though his young looks belies his age. It will also interest you to know that Mr. Obah’s sorjourn in the Institute began at a period when the Institute was in the process of attaining its Charter status which was finally gotten in 1993.

The Mr. Obah we are celebrating today is what we can refer to as a firebrand, a man of many talents; which has been harnessed over the years to the benefit and growth of the Institute. An astute Events Manager, an Orator, a Speech Writer per excellence, A Public Relations Expert, A Publisher and Editor with superb Crisis Management skills, an Astute Administratorand most notably, a genius MC and Compere

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I wish to state that Mr Obahis leaving the Institute in a much stronger position than he met it and I believe that is the goal of every human being.

We acknowledge that this day for him will signal mixed feelings; Happy because the day-to-day grind, alarm clock arousals and fighting rush hour traffic is over and sad because the daily routine and schedules of everyday adult life are bygone.

Let me conclude by saying; yes, there will be more time for music, travel and new challenges. I therefore wish you; Mr.  Obah a wonderful retirement and a prosperous new beginning in your life.

Thank you for your attention.

BOLA TEMOWO FCII, FIIN

President/Chairman of Council

Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria

NCRIB Director joins CIPMN Governing Board

The Director, Human Resources and Administration of the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB), Mr. Lukeman Adeleye has been elected as a member of the Governing council, the highest policy making body of Chattered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria (CIPMN). 

 Adeleye who was elected for the second term joined NCRIB in 2013 and he has used his robust experience garnered over the years from his various place of previous assignments as human resource personnel to raise the image of the Council to an envious position. 

An alumnus of the University of Ibadan, Adeleye obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree in Geography and later a Masters’ Degree in industrial and Labour Relations, also from same University. 

He is a Fellow of the Chattered Institute of Personnel Management and one time Chairman of the professional body in Oyo State, a former treasurer of Owu (Abeokuta) Development Union, Ibadan branch, Justice of Peace, Oyo State and member of many other social groups contributing to the development of the society.

His competencies in handling the secretariat Human Resources is not far fetch from his working experience spanning about three decades from both the public and private sector of the nation’s economy.  

Adeleye has attended several training within and beyond the shore of Nigeria. He is expected to bring his versatile experience as an astute human and resource manager to bear on the strategic vision of CIPMN.

NCRIB becomes member of LIMRA

Chuks Udo Okonta 

L-R:  President/CEO of MiddleSea, Malta, Mr Alfredo Munoz Perez; President of the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers, Mr Ayodapo Shoderu; General Manager of Bee Insurance Management, Mr Simon Camilleri and a past President of NCRIB, Mr Babajide Olatunde Agbeja, during a visit of NCRIB delegation to Malta, recently

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The Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) has scored another high point in its international recognition as it was admitted as a member of LIMRA, a world acclaimed financial services research consultancy.

Conveying the NCRIB admission during the 2015 International Business trip of the Council’s delegates to Malta, Europe, the Operation Head of LIMRA Europe, Middle East and Africa, Carla Baldivia said with the admission, NCRIB would now have access to the database of the association and be able to access yearly global financial reports by the body. 

“As a LIMRA member, your Council will now have access to all the research, webinars and market facts in addition to the information centre that gathers resources from more than 128 periodicals” Baldivia noted.

Responding to the award, the President of the NCRIB, Ayodapo Shoderu who led the Council’s delegation noted that the NCRIB has a vision of exploring all avenues to place the Council and its members on the global plane. 

He said, coming on the heels of similar admission by the British Insurance Brokers Association (BIBA), Shoderu opined that the challenges before NCRIB members was now higher in a bid to match up with its growing global reputation.

Also, during a lecture on Customer Service, Brokers were told to imbibe multiple integrated channels of customer service in order to meet the yearning needs of today’s clients.

According to Senior Regional Executive of LIMRA,  ManolisKyriacou, current and future customers have high expectations for service quality through all channels they could utilize to connect with the provider.

“Insurance intermediaries that successfully deliver their services competently will most often improve relationship and outcomes with their policy holders”

As the world's leading insurance and financial services trade association, LIMRA's purpose is to be the Trusted Source of Industry Knowledge. It currently provides Research, Learning and Development programs to more than 850 financial services companies throughout the world. 

Serving its members for nearly 100 years, these financial services firms turn to LIMRA first for Research, serving as a catalyst for new ideas, to better understand the industry, and plan for the future, learning and development programs, to assess, train, and increase distribution productivity, as well as develop the next generation of corporate leaders and connections with industry leaders and peers through study groups, committees, and conferences. 

The tour was rounded off with visits to leading insurance companies and brokerage companies such as Middle Sea and Assikura Insurance Brokers where delegates had robust insights into operation of insurance business in Malta. 

NCRIB becomes member of LIMRA

Chuks Udo Okonta 

The Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) has scored another high point in its international recognition as it was admitted as a member of LIMRA, a world acclaimed financial services research consultancy.

Conveying the NCRIB admission during the 2015 International Business trip of the Council’s delegates to Malta, Europe, the Operation Head of LIMRA Europe, Middle East and Africa, Carla Baldivia said with the admission, NCRIB would now have access to the database of the association and be able to access yearly global financial reports by the body. 

“As a LIMRA member, your Council will now have access to all the research, webinars and market facts in addition to the information centre that gathers resources from more than 128 periodicals” Baldivia noted.

Responding to the award, the President of the NCRIB, Ayodapo Shoderu who led the Council’s delegation noted that the NCRIB has a vision of exploring all avenues to place the Council and its members on the global plane. 

He said, coming on the heels of similar admission by the British Insurance Brokers Association (BIBA), Shoderu opined that the challenges before NCRIB members was now higher in a bid to match up with its growing global reputation.

Also, during a lecture on Customer Service, Brokers were told to imbibe multiple integrated channels of customer service in order to meet the yearning needs of today’s clients.

According to Senior Regional Executive of LIMRA,  ManolisKyriacou, current and future customers have high expectations for service quality through all channels they could utilize to connect with the provider.

“Insurance intermediaries that successfully deliver their services competently will most often improve relationship and outcomes with their policy holders”

As the world's leading insurance and financial services trade association, LIMRA's purpose is to be the Trusted Source of Industry Knowledge. It currently provides Research, Learning and Development programs to more than 850 financial services companies throughout the world. 

Serving its members for nearly 100 years, these financial services firms turn to LIMRA first for Research, serving as a catalyst for new ideas, to better understand the industry, and plan for the future, learning and development programs, to assess, train, and increase distribution productivity, as well as develop the next generation of corporate leaders and connections with industry leaders and peers through study groups, committees, and conferences. 

The tour was rounded off with visits to leading insurance companies and brokerage companies such as Middle Sea and Assikura Insurance Brokers where delegates had robust insights into operation of insurance business in Malta. 

Constitutional Amendment: ​Falana defends Jonathan, wants lawmakers’ pension removed

​Senior​ lawyer and activist, Femi Falana, on Wednesday berated lawmakers for threatening to veto President Goodluck Jonathan over his decision to withdraw assent to the constitutional amendment they sent to him. 

The ​p​resident, last week, wrote to the National Assembly informing it of his decision to decline assent to the amendment bill​,​ based​ ​​on ​the legality of the procedure adopted in amending the​ ​Constitution.

In a statement issued Wednesday, Mr. Falana said even though the National Assembly has the power to override the President’s veto, the controversy over the constitutional amendment should be handled with caution on the part of the federal legislators. 

He said the observation raised by Mr. Jonathan are serious

“Majority of Nigerians have consistently demanded for the removal of immunity clause from the Constitution

.​The amendment seeks to confer immunity on legislators in addition to the heads of the executive arm of government,” he said.

He also said another objectionable proposition in the 4th amendment is the provision of pension for life for former leaders of the National Assembly.

Mr. Falana said one of the former speakers of the House of Representatives, who will be a beneficiary of the largesse, spent a few months in office and resigned for fear of impeachment; while another retired speaker who served for less than four years is barely 40 years old. 

He said the National Assembly should justify why Nigerians should pay life pension to such legislators for rendering part time service in the parliament.

The lawyer, however, disagreed o​n​ the insistence of the ​p​resident that the Amendment Bill should have been​ passed​ with the votes of four fifths of the National Assembly and approved by the resolution of the Houses of Assembly of not less than two-thirds of all the states of the federation.

“I had reminded the President that the last three alterations of the Constitution were passed by the two-thirds majority of the federal and state legislators and signed into law by him in 2010 and 2011,” he said.

Mr. Falana added that the National Assembly equally acted illegally in amending sections 8 and 9 of the Constitution without a resolution backed by four fifths majority of the members.

“If the Bill had been assented to by the President as proposed by the National Assembly

​,​ the entire 4th alteration to the Constitution would have been vitiated. 

“In 2010, the National Assembly had purportedly empowered itself to amend the Constitution without the assent of the President of the Republic. The action was challenged in the Federal High Court by Olisa Agbakoba SAN, a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association. The court declared the amendment illegal and unconstitutional and proceeded to set it aside in toto,” he said.

Mr. Falana said in view of the fundamental errors that characterized the 4th Alteration to the Constitution, the National Assembly members should go back to the drawing table. 

He said they should have no difficulty in jettisoning the alteration of section 9 of the Constitution, as it is the height of legislative dictatorship to amend the Constitution of a country without the assent of the President and the endorsement of the people via a referendum. 

“While the concern of the legislators for the rights of Nigerians to basic education and health is appreciated the inclusion of both rights in chapter four of the Constitution is unnecessary as both rights have been statutorily recognized. 

“However, if the members of the National Assembly refuse to remove the objectionable provisions before overriding the veto of the President they would have engaged in a futile exercise which is likely to be challenged in a law court,” he said.