ILAN holds investiture for 10th President Wednesday

The Governing Council of the Institute of Loss Adjusters of Nigeria (ILAN) on Monday said it has concluded plans for the formal investiture of its 10^th President, Mr. Ralph N. Opara.

According to the Chairman, Organising Committee and Vice President of the Institute, Mr. Femi Hassan, Mr. Oparah will be formally decorated with insignia of office in a ceremony organized by ILAN in his honour, on Wednesday, May 18, 2016, at the Lagos Country Club, Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way, Ikeja, Lagos.

Oparah, who took over office since September 2015, from his predecessor in office, Chief Lebi Omoboyowa, as the new President of the 34 years Institute, is expected to serve for one term of two years.

Ralph Opara started his insurance career whilst in his early twenties in 1973 straight from secondary school. All his working life has been in the insurance industry especially in the technical support sub-sector where he transversed all areas: broking, pensions consultancy, risk surveying, marine surveying and loss adjusting. He took pains to ensure he had the relevant qualification in each of the areas and did so while on the job thus marching academics with practice.

Ralph was the founding CEO of Technique Loss Adjusters Ltd which later transformed to an insurance technical support group with the incorporation of Techno Hazard Appraisal & Control Services Ltd (for risk surveying) and Veritas Marine Services Ltd (for hull and cargo surveying).

Ralph has been a member of ILAN since 1991 and was appointed the Honorary Assistant Registrar in 1998 and the Honorary Registrar from 2000 until he was elected Vice President in 2011 and then President in 2015. The therefore understands the Institute inside out.

As not to remain a big fish in small water, Ralph, in 2000 stepped out to work for Alpha Group which cutting edge is essentially engineering approach to claims and surveys? By the time he returned to his group four years later, he had become a reference point for engineering related claims, risk surveying and marine hull surveying.

He is currently midwifing the establishment of an international oil, gas and energy loss adjusting outfit which would be comparable to those of foreign loss adjusters who come to our backyard to survey and adjust claims. Along with four other loss adjusters who are pioneering this project, Nigeria will soon boast of a specialist surveying and adjusting outfit that will bring home the much needed expertise in oil, gas and energy claims surveys.

He is a member of many professional associations both nationally and internationally, including ACII – Associate of Chartered Insurance Institute, UK/Nigeria; FILA –  Fellow of Institute of Loss Adjusters of Nigeria; FIFAA – Fellow of Int’l Federation of Adjusting Associations; ARSAN – Associate of Risk Surveyors Association of Nigeria; CMarTech – Chartered Marine Technologist; MIIMS – Member of Int’l Institute of Marine Surveying and MCMS – Member of Society of Marine Engineers & Ship Surveyors

The Institute of Loss Adjusters of Nigeria is a Corporate Professional body and one of the major arms of the insurance industry in Nigeria. Its members provide the necessary technical support services to the insurance market in the insurance market in the areas of Claim investigation, verification, and settlement.

ILAN was founded in June 1981 because of the need to give the required professional training to building loss adjusters and to have a unified code of conduct for its members. Membership is of two categories; corporate members and Individual members.