The Future Of the Nigerian Insurance Sector, NAICOM Is Brighter – NAICOM
The Commissioner for Insurance and Chief Executive Officer of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Mr. Olusegun Omosehin has said that the future of the Nigerian insurance sector and that of the regulator, NAICOM is brighter now than before.
Omosehin also advocated the need for insurance to be embedded in the nation’s life.
The NAICOM boss speaking during an interactive session with insurance journalists in Lagos on Wednesday, said since his resumption of duties as the CEO of the regulatory organ of the nation’s insurance industry, a lot has been done to reposition the nation’s insurance sector for effectiveness and NAICOM to become more responsive to the market.
While emphasising the importance of insurance in protecting other sectors of the economy, he highlighted the mandate of the Commission, which he said is to regulate, supervise and ensure the sector’s development.
He reiterated the readiness of his administration to do everything within its powers to take the industry to lofty heights.
Speaking on what the Commission under his leadership has done in the past three months, Omosehin said that the Commission has already fashioned out strategies and initiatives to reposition the industry and engender sustainable growth in the country.
Omosehin who identified the pivotal role of the media in the success of the Commission’s mandate, appealed for support from the journalists, even as he thanked them for the contributions and support accorded the Commission so far.
According to him, I would like to say the future of the sector and that of the Commission is brighter now than ever, this is because you can see the way the Nigerian economy has moved in the last one year – a lot has happened, and that has also brought to bear the need for adequate protection – whether you are in manufacturing, whether you are in services, whether you are in business, whatever sector you operate.
“Continuously, the need for insurance to be embedded in the national life of our nation has become more and more important.
“What we have done since we came on board in the last three months, was to put together a vision that has a basis, has a background, by looking at what we have done over the years as a Commission.
“Interestingly, we discovered that the industry last year came up with a ten-year strategic roadmap that articulated the progress we want to see as an industry and in doing that the number of initiatives was mapped out, some of them have a direct bearing as to the execution revolving on NAICOM. So, we took all of these, and then looked at the kind of ambition we have and how we want to grow the industry,” the NAICOM boss explained.
Speaking further, he said, “The last three months have been very instructive, because as an industry, we have to do a whole lot, in terms of putting a new direction and sharing this with the market.
“We started May 3, 2024, officially even though our appointment was announced on April 19, 2024, and one of the key things we did was to put our thoughts together on how to champion a plan for the Commission.
“We commenced some of our initial field works by looking internally, to see what we have on the ground after which we started our engagement with the entire market, which involved having meetings with various sections of the major key stakeholders in the industry.
“We met with the Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA); we met with the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB), we met with the Institute of Loss Adjusters of Nigeria (ILAN); we met with the Legislators, particularly those that are saddled with oversight functions about insurance and actuarial matters and we met with some consumer groups. All these engagements came in very handy in ultimately fashioning the blueprint of what I called our strategic priorities.
“Before I go to the future that we envision, I would like to talk about the pivotal role the media will continue to play, particularly on how we would like to see the sector projected subsequently.
“Honestly, I must start by thanking you for the support given to the Commission before now. I inherited the Commission that has enjoyed tremendous support from the media and to that effect, I will say I am very grateful to my predecessors. The relationship has been cordial and has been wonderful.
“So what’s my appeal? I want you to help me move it a notch higher; I want to enjoy even better cooperation and partnership from the media. So I am pleading that if there are specific areas you want to call my attention to, please feel free to do so.
“The fact that I have not met with you in the last three months is because I was busy putting all the ingredients together that will enable us to fast-track the pace of growth and development for the sector,” Omosehin said.
