CIIN: Looking Back And Forth
L-R: Director General, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN), . Mrs. Abimbola Tiamiyu; Council Member (CIIN), Mr. Jide Arimolade; President, National Association of Insurance and Pension Correspondents (NAIPCO), Mr. Chuks Okonta; Chairman of Council and President (CIIN), Sir Muftai Oyegunle; Rector, College of Insurance and Financial Management (CIFM), Dr. Yeside Oyetayo and General Secretary, NAIPCO, Mr Saka Khaliq during the unveiling of the revised edition of Insurance Text Book for Senior Secondary Schools and College by CIIN in Lagos today, July 28, 2021.
The President and Chairman of Council, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN), Sir Muftau Oyegunle today presented the scorecard of the institute under his leadership in the last one year as well as unveiled plans for the future.
While highlighting the achievements of the institute during the period under review at a media parley at the Institute’s Secretariat in Lagos, Sir Oyegunle identified the prime place of the media in enhancing the growth of insurance industry just as he solicited the cooperation of the media.
Highlight of the event was the unveiling of the second edition of Insurance Text Book for Senior Secondary and Colleges published by the Institute as part of its effort to deepen insurance education in Nigeria.
The CIIN insurance text books for Senior Secondary Schools and Colleges are distributed free of charge by the Institute to Secondary Schools and Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria.
50th Annual General Meeting:
As you are now aware, the Institute had a successful 50th Annual General meeting on the 15th of July 2021. The Council is happy and proud that we are sustaining the legacy of the Institute despite all odds and challenges. Our presence here today therefore, is to share with you some of the milestones we have crossed and the next level we are preparing for.
Courting Media Support:
It is also very important that the Institute parleys with the press since we both have vital roles to play in spreading the gospel of Insurance to our people. Your role in the sensitization of people on the importance of Insurance and changing their perceptions and beliefs that Insurance Companies do not pay claims when they suffer losses is of greater importance. Hence the need for careful reporting of insurance events knowing the impact which this may bear on the image of the insurance industry.
My first year as President of the Institute has been eventful, while a lot of inventiveness were accomplished in accordance with my agenda as the 50th President of the Institute.
The activities of the Institute and indeed the College of Insurance and Financial Management (CIFM) have been completely transformed through digitalization in consonance with growing trends, and to remain relevant in today’s business.
The Institute’s activities are being completely reengineered through computerization and this has improved the quality of its service offerings.
Professional Examination:
The professional examination remains the pivot of all other functions of the Institute. We have maintained the sanctity of the examinations while not losing focus of the need for regular review of its machinery and curriculum. The Institute’s reviewed syllabus became operational in the April 2021 examination diet with the foundation stage while later stages would be conducted in October 2021.
Despite the raging COVID-19 pandemic, we were able to successfully conduct two examination diets i.e., October 2020 and April 2021. The Institute would continue to strive hard in updating and improving both the processes and the contents of the professional examinations with integrity while ensuring global best practices are met.
Professional Forum and MCPD programmes:
The Insurance Professionals’ Forum, which is the largest gathering of insurance professionals in Nigeria since 1991 to deliberate on topical issues in the insurance industry, was successfully help last year and plans are on for 2021 edition. It also affords our members the opportunities to review activities, share ideas and expertise while also proffering solutions to operational challenges.
However, there are also several activities of the Institute that members could attend to develop their skills and expertise during and after the completion of the qualifying examinations. These Mandatory Continuous Professional Development (MCPD) programmes, (some of which had been ceded to the College of Insurance and Financial Management) has been of great impact in the capacity building of our members in various insurance organisation. The knowledge acquired at these educational and other programmes organised for members goes beyond those of the professional examinations but also covers topics that enable members maintain high professional standards as required in the Insurance Industry’s Code of Ethics.
There has also been a reinforcement of the relevance of Professionalism. The Institute through its professional examinations ensures that only sound individuals become insurance professionals. Furthermore, senior professionals upon retirement are being encouraged to participate in the Institute’s activities through their involvement in seminars, CIIN examination processes (i.e. setting and moderation of examination questions), lecturing at the CIFM and serving in various Committees of Council.
CIIN Secretariat:
The Institute’s administrative structure and processes are being re-energized through an on-going reorganization in the secretariat which has led to staff redeployment in some cases. Job descriptions of Institute’s staff are being reviewed to improve service delivery while appropriate training programs have been identified and being provided.
Similarly, a staff audit exercise by Ernst & Young Professional Services is underway to ensure that the Institute is adequately staffed to meet all members’ needs, deliver on its mission and vision, while improving the quality of its service offerings.
Awareness Initiative:
The Institute’s insurance awareness initiative has been sustained through different processes. The tradition of enlightening secondary school students in the the country about Insurance profession and practice to inspire them to select insurance as one of the subjects to be written either in Senior Secondary School and/or NECO examinations continue to record positive results.
The Institute’s insurance textbook for senior secondary schools launched some years back was recently reviewed and the new version is already being distributed. We are happy to report that over twelve thousand (12000) copies of this textbook have been distributed to various geopolitical zones of the country either through the ministry of education or directly to schools.
During the year under review, all the tertiary institutions offering insurance in Nigeria, Cameroon and Gambia that had been reaccredited by the Institute received donations of two sets of the CIIN course books to support and encourage the student members to take our examination.
In recognition of the importance of including millennials in the Institute’s activities, annual youth boot camp initiated a few years ago was held virtually while the mentoring of young professionals under the CIIN Youth Mentorship program kicked off in March 2021. In the same vein, the maiden edition of the Institute’s Quiz Competition for Secondary Schools also took place on the 3rd of June 2021 at the University of Lagos.
The College of Insurance and Financial Management:
The Institute’s training subsidiary, the College of Insurance and Financial Management (CIFM), continues to achieve giant strides in human capital development in the insurance industry. All CIFM training programmes are now online, and this has facilitated extensive collaborations with subject experts from all over the world.
The College cutting edge training programs for various arms of the industry also include the annual Insurance Directors Conference. The last edition held in November 2020 was a huge success while plans for the 2021 edition is on-going.
The CIFM also commenced the NAICOM CAA (Certified Actuarial Analyst) Scholarship programme during the year under review. This scholarship is open to staff of all regulated insurance entities in the industry i.e., insurance companies, broking and loss adjusting firms. 29 candidates passed the qualification assessment for the scholarship out of which 22 commenced the CAA examinations in May 2021. We are happy to report that about 70% of our awardees passed the examinations while plans are in place to register more students for the October CAA 2021 examinations.
In recognition of the standards of the College, the CIFM was appointed as the External Examiner for the Insurance Training College in Uganda, and it continues to perform this role till date. Furthermore, it is currently planning the insurance training for staff of the Petroleum Authority of Uganda (PAU).
As part of the infrastructural development of the College, its N304m auditorium named NAICOM Hall was commissioned in March 2021. The magnificent 1500-seater edifice would host the Induction Ceremony of the Institute this year.
Manpower Development
Going forward, we are poised to do more at the Institute and the College therefore, the Director General and the Rector are geared to deliver optimally. This year, there would be greater efforts towards the insurance awareness programmes and initiatives to other parts of the country, developing young talents in the insurance industry through the mentoring program and ensuring that the Institute and CIFM deliver all programmes in line with global best practices.
While the vision of CIFM is to be the ‘insurance training college of choice in Africa’, the Institute is also focused on reinventing itself, with the vision “To remain a world class professional body committed to the provision of an efficient and effective manpower for the insurance industry’’. We will not rest until this is achieved in all ramifications.
