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NAICOM tasks governments on insurance cover to mitigate flooding, terrorism risks

By on May 25, 2014

The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) on Saturday urged the three tiers of government to consider insurance cover for citizens against natural disasters and terrorism.

A NAICOM Official, Dr Sam Onyeka, made the call in a paper entitled: “Insurance Regulations as Catalysts for Market Development: Lessons for Media”.

Onyeka presented the paper at the 2014 NAICOM Seminar for Insurance Correspondents.

According to him, risks from natural disasters such as flooding and activities of terrorists, among others, are considered high level risks not covered by insurance.

He said that insurance companies did not have the capacity to cover those risks, urging that governments should make provisions for them.

“Most people affected in situations of natural disasters such as flooding and terrorism attacks are the vulnerable in the society.

“To ensure that money is pooled together for such, the federal, state and local governments should make provisions to pay insurance premium to cover them.

“This way, insurance companies will take responsibility of ensuring that victims of such disasters are properly provided for,” he said.

Onyeka explained that providing insurance premium for such would relieve governments of the burden of making emergency provisions from scarce resources anytime natural disasters would occur.

Mr Babajide Oniwinde, also a NAICOM official, called for massive awareness about insurance to ensure that members of the public would understand why they should buy insurance cover.

In a paper entitled: “Financial Literacy and Insurance Education: Issues and Challenges – Role of the Media,” Oniwinde said that journalists had a lot of work to do in this regard.

He said that the commission had focused attention on creating such awareness through its school outreach, mass sensitisation, public enlightenment and by supporting training for teachers and journalists.

 

 

[Daily Times]