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Insurers responsive to victims of security incidents – NAICOM

By BusinessNews Staff on March 25, 2014

Families of police victims of the security situation in the country, particularly in the North, have not really felt the impact of loss of loved ones because insurance have been responsive to their plight.

Commissioner for Insurance, Mr. Fola Daniel, who stated this, noted that the families have not really felt the impact because insurance claim settlement ability has significantly improved.

Daniel said, “If you look at the Nigerian Police claims for 2012, as a result of the unfortunate incident that is on-going in the North-East of Nigeria, you could see that there has been an upsurge in claims by the police and the armed forces. Can you imagine if claims were not settled, the kind of security situation we would be having? People have lost their dear ones; they should not be made to suffer. They should not be made to cry again because they have shed all the tears. The insurance industry has been very responsive. “

“Also, the Dana crash was a very big claim. At a time, there were technical hiccups sufficient for some insurance entity to say we walk away from this business. Insurance practitioners are not just businessmen; they are nationalists, Nigerians, human beings. We sat together and we said, yes we know technicalities you can deploy to do this work, we have lost more people; the international community is looking at us, let us rise to the occasion and I am very happy about what I am about to say: the claim has been dealt with satisfactorily. Those who have genuine reasons to disagree, we are able to persuade them and say please let us not deploy technicalities, we are not going to win the argument if they call for public opinion,” Daniel stated.

Daniel said that all of the positive initiatives taking place in the insurance sector are meant to entrench consumers’ confidence, adding “We also recognise that even if insurance companies have all the cash, some people might still be needed or might still need to keep some people out of old habits. And so, we said now that there is money, what do we do? We need to reinvigorate our claims to complaint bureau which is dedicated to take complaints from members of the public.”

The insurance Commissioner said that the Nigerian Insurers Association, NIA, ombudsman the complaint bureau established by NAICOM are working well.

With the no premium no cover mandate of NAICOM, Daniel said that insurance companies lost few businesses though insignificant, but on balance, they had more money at their disposal.

“Now that insurance companies’ have more money at their disposal, I can wield the big stick because if you go to the mortuary to flog dead bodies, you are dissipating energy, even God will be angry. Why should you do that to the dead? What I am saying is that if an insurance company is broke, if they do not have money at all, I am not required to cancel their licence from day one, I just look at the gaps, you have insolvency margin, liquidity squeeze; the law requires that I give them 60 days to make good that deficit. Can you imagine what damage would have been done to people who have suffered losses and then you wait for 60 days before they find more money? “

“In practice, those 60 days is not doable because there are other regulators that would be involved. So really, when you say 60 days, literally, you are talking of about five to six months. A lot of damage would have been done. We now have a situation where companies have enough cash and they can pay. It is no longer beating a dead body. If I knock at your door, you know that I know you have money and you will pay. That money you put in a fixed deposit, quickly you will terminate it so I don’t make a public show of you,” Daniel stated.

[Vanguard]

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