Insurance growth: CIIN reels out road map

n the aftermath of the global financial crisis, insurance operators have started strategising on modalities to cushion the effect the crisis may have on the industry.

According to the President, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN), Mr Sunny Adeda, it has become obvious that efforts must now be in the direction of putting businesses back on track.

Speaking at the institute’s business outlook seminar, held in Lagos, recently, Mr Adeda noted that analysts believed that the economies of both developed and developing countries engendered varying degrees of strategic recovery, giving rise to the concern about relative ability of countries and businesses to pull the right strings in the recovery path.

He explained that the seminar on 2011 business outlook was a successor to the 2010 maiden edition, which he said was not only well attended, but also gave an insight into how much the industry could achieve and how far the operators could go if dedicated.

“As an Industry, we have been engaging ourselves with a number of issues in order to recover fully from the effects of the economic crisis.

“These may have included a re-appraisal of the internal working systems of our businesses, issues bordering on capital adequacy and risk management, as well as corporate governance imperatives in the emerging dispensation.

“Key areas in our present concern may also include widening skills gap and the depletion of existing skilled human resource due to aging and poaching by other jurisdictions. We are also witnesses of the increasing vibrancy of the regulatory environment, cutting across all sectors of the financial services industry.

“In our own case, the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has been releasing a bouquet of regulatory mandates meant to sanitize the insurance sector and grow its fortune.

“The MDRI, Oil and Gas Content Development guidelines and a stricter monitoring of the accounting and reporting standards, all present a revealing new regulatory landscape for insurance operations in the country.

“It is also my belief that issues concerning more integration of the West African Regional insurance market should be our concern, especially in view of the leadership role of Nigeria in the sub-region. Fortunately, the West African Insurance Companies Association (WAICA) conference, which comes up in about two weeks, will focus on “ A Road map to Regional Integration”.

“It is pertinent to state that this is the time for the sub-regional insurance industry to strengthen its existing pools in order to support productive investment and the mitigation of emergent risks that are identifiable with globalisation, climate change and natural disasters. We cannot continue to fold our arms until we have the Haiti experience or the latest one in New Zealand.

“Our roles and responsibilities as the CIIN have continued to revolve around the provision of adequate platforms for continuous education for the men and women who hold the reins of our unique business. We are also continuously challenged by the increasing human capital development needs and the compelling need for bridging the skills gaps in the underwriting of highly technical aspects of our business,” he stated.

Source : Tribune