The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has expressed disappointment that insurance brokers in the country were yet to take full advantage of the various business vistas created for them in the industry in the last two years.

It   encouraged middlemen in the insurance industry, to live up to their expectations and make good use of those opportunities to their advantage and help to grow the industry.

The Commissioner for Insurance, Mr. Fola Daniel, communicated the commission’s dissatisfaction to the professionals at the 2011 National Insurance Conference hosted by the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) in Lagos Wednesday.

He regretted that in spite of the fact that the commission had simplified the licensing process and created new opportunities in the course of implementing its Market Development and Restructuring Initiative (MDRI) since 2009, the professionals are yet to live up to its expectations.

“In the past two years, the commission has been under the burden of developing and expanding the insurance market and by extension, increasing the insurance sector’s contribution to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), part of the efforts is the introduction of the MDRI in 2009.

“I regret to observe that the brokers have not brought sufficient energy into the initiative.  I had expected a more energetic and proactive collaboration from the brokers than we are getting at the moment.

“One of the key objectives of the MDRI is continuous availability of genuine insurance products at the grassroots. Naturally, fake insurance products will thrive in the absence of genuine insurance products.  We therefore, need more brokers and agents at the grassroots,” Daniel said.

“The commission has tended to be more liberal with the licensing of brokers and agents. Notwithstanding, it appears that brokers have continued to be concentrated only in our major commercial cities.  This trend must change if we are to truly develop the insurance industry in Nigeria,” he added.

The commissioner also encouraged the operators to tap into the oil and gas business in line with the Nigerian Content Development Act, 2010, including   agricultural risks underwriting to complement the effort of the Federal Government in that critical sector.

“It is significant that by Section 49 of the Act, all oil and gas insurance business in Nigeria must be transacted through a Nigerian registered insurance broker.  This is indeed a rare opportunity.

“Brokers require technical as well as Information Technology capacities to take effective advantage of the provision.  Towards developing the needed capacities, building strategic alliance with some established foreign insurance brokers may be helpful.  This is in addition to deliberate efforts to develop human and technical capacities,” Daniel said.

Source: ThisDay/Nnamdi Duru