NIA committee tasks NAICOM on stance with microinsurance

The Micro Insurance Committee of the Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) has urged the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) to review its stance on microinsurance license and product registration to allow more companies undertake the product.

The Committee which is headed by Ogunbayo Kolawole, made the call while presenting its report to NIA in Lagos, recently.

According to committee, the inability of some member companies to secure operational licence and products approval is adversely affecting the industry.

The Committee also posited that there are inadequate micro insurance products in the market, and therefore, called for capacity building so as to roll out more appropriate and client specific products to meet the market needs.

NEWSVERGE reports that the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) in 2013 released the operational guideline to ensure smooth kick-off of the microinsurance business across the country.

A 14 man steering committee was also setup, comprising of representatives of stakeholders across the financial services market that would oversee implementation of the scheme and headed by former Director General of the Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA), Mr. Sunday Thomas.

With the release of guideline, the then Commissioner for insurance, Mr. Fola Daniel, assured that the micro-insurance will help the country address the challenges of poverty, low penetration of insurance business which is endemic in the society.

He specifically mentioned that micro-insurance business will be strictly regulated, because it has to do with trust, so the commission’s stance will be strong to enable it protect the policyholders.

“NAICOM will not compromise in its regulatory standard to ensure the smooth running of the micro-insurance, so we shall be definite in our stance to ensure that policyholders are adequately protected.”