NAICOM set to open 20 new branch offices nationwide
L-R: Commissioner for Insurance, Alhaji Mohammed Kari; Secretary to the State Government, Oyo State,Mr Olalekan Alli and President Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria, Mr Eddie Efekoha at the 2018 edition of the CIIN Education seminar held recently in Ibadan.
The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) is set to open twenty new branch offices nationwide as parts of its drive to deepen insurance penetration in Nigeria.
The Commissioner for Insurance, Mohammed Kari, disclosed this at the just concluded Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN) 2018 Education Seminar in Ibadan, Oyo State.
The new distribution channel guidelines called the State Insurance Producer (SIP), Kari said, will be released on January 1, 2019.
The opening of 20 new branch offices across the nation with each Geo political zone getting four branches each, according to Kari is to complement the SIP policy.
SIP, according to Kari, will be an agency of a state government licensed by NAICOM to provide intermediary services as defined by the guideline issued by the commission and also remunerated as by the provisions of the operational guideline.
The key responsibilities of SIP, Kari said include facilitating the sale of the compulsory classes of insurance within the state jurisdiction and all classes for its principal’s insurance and that additional services and products would be considered in the future, depending on the success of the initial.
Other duties according to him are, exercise on defaulters the power to penalise them according to the laws of the states and maintain proper records of individuals and organisations bound by the requirements of the compulsory classes of insurance and monitoring the compliance.
The Commissioner posited that once licensed, the SIP shall enter into Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) as may be sanctioned by NAICOM with approved insurance companies in its jurisdiction for the purpose of placement and management of insurance business with approved insurers that have branch offices in the state.
Highlighting the benefits accruable from the SIP initiative, he maintained that it would help to meet the government’s expectations with regards to Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) in the area of job creation, poverty prevention and confidence in the face of risks.
Commended the CIIN for educating insurance practitioners, The Governor of Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, urged insurance operators to deal with the issue of negative perception people have about insurance; develop quality services and superior value to customers; introduce minimal premium and tackle the menace of quacks and fraudulent practitioners.
