The National Insurance Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission have agreed on the need to collaborate on the supervision and regulation of insurance companies quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

According to a statement issued by NAICOM on Tuesday, the Director -General, SEC, Ms Arunma Oteh, disclosed this when she paid a courtesy visit to the headquarters of NAICOM in Abuja on Monday.

The Commissioner for Insurance, Mr. Fola Daniel, noted that 10 years ago, the commission had little or nothing to do with SEC because not more than three insurance companies were listed on the NSE.

But as at today, according to him, over 30 insurance companies are listed on the NSE.

“Some of the companies we have primary responsibility to regulate also have one or two things to file or do with SEC by virtue of the fact that they are quoted on the NSE. This, therefore makes it imperative for the two regulators to collaborate to ensure effective supervision and regulation of the entities they have to deal with,”the commissioner said.

According to the statement, Oteh agreed with the commissioner and stressed the need for the two agencies to collaborate on joint inspection and supervision of insurance companies listed on the NSE.

Oteh said such collaborative exercises should be done more frequently to ensure effective supervision of the companies.

She commended NAICOM’s transformation agenda ,which she said had led to massive awareness about the insurance sector.

Oteh particularly noted the awareness generated about the compulsory insurance products campaigns and said it was quite enlightening.

She also commended the commission’s efforts in trying to introduce micro-insurance in the country, adding that she would want to see the insurance sector play a key role in the economy.

“Financial inclusion is very important because all over the world, insurance assets are critical for economic development. What we see happening in pension assets should also happen in insurance assets”, she said.

Source: Punch