Yemisi Izuora
The Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers, NCRIB, has rejected an aspect of the Procurement Bill in which they treated like contractors by making them pay so much for insurance bids.
President of the Council, Bola Onigbogi in his remarks at the members evening during the week n Lagos, said the Council had made very insightful contributions to the Public Hearing on the Procurement Act review by the National Assembly during which it advance a superior and convincing arguments on why Insurance Brokers must not be treated like contractors by making them pay hugely for insurance bids.
Similarly, the Council made an impressionable appearance at the National Assembly during the Public Hearing on the review on the National Health Insurance Scheme, NHIS.
All these have continued to put the Council in public consciousness and assuring that it shall not relent in engaging in these proactive dialogues under this administration.
Speaking on the misconception of payment of compensation by the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, which credited to the Corps Marshall of the Corps, Mr Boboye Oyeyemi, that Brokers deny passengers of their compensation when accident occurs, the president said the information was misleading.
Boboye, was quoted as saying while addressing motorists and stakeholders at the joint stakeholders’ forum of Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission in Abuja recently, that Insurance Brokers “ take advantage of the ignorance of travelers to deny them of compensations in the event of mishaps”.
Onigbogi say that the Council viewed the comment as a clear exhibition of the ignorance and poor perception of the FRSC about who a Broker is and what his roles are in the insurance value chain.
He explained that Insurance Brokers do not pay compensation to clients, and in this case, motorists, adding, “This type of misinformation has simply underscored the depth of ignorance even in high quarters about who we are and we have to quickly commence our engagements with these critical segments of our society, including the FRSC under my tenure as President.”
On border closure, the president commended government for the move, pointing that, “To all intents, the move is quite salutary as it would protect local production of goods and services. However, it is advised that the government should use the opportunity of the closure to encourage the acceleration of local capabilities so that our strides towards self-sufficiency would be guaranteed. It is a fact that no country could wholly depend on foreign countries for survival, but this must come with utmost sincerity on the part of the government.
Speaking further, he said, “As a critical stakeholder in the economy, I like to also use this medium to first commend the Federal Government for the enhancement of public transportation in Nigeria through the strengthening of the nation’s railway system. Aside from aiding commerce and reducing road accidents, the railway system will also create more jobs for Nigerians.
However, the government is hereby implored to ensure that the huge investment in that sector is safeguarded through embrace of insurance. This, to us, is one of the prudent ways to protect this great national asset and guarantee that it endures.”
He said that on assumption of office on Thursday, November 31st 2019 at the Transcorp Hilton, AbujaHe promised to run a progressive tenure that would be anchored on two pivots, namely: Image Management and Strategic Engagement.
According to him, The choice of image management is not far-fetched, especially when we consider the remote image and reputation which Insurance Brokers have attracted in the scheme of things in the country.
Everywhere you go, there is gross misconception about who a Broker is and what he does. It is often sickening to at best hear many mixing our identity up with that of the Stock Brokers. Under this administration, this must stop! We would be more strategic and aggressive in our projection of the insurance brokers brand across all geographical areas of the country by deploying indepth image making strategies. While this would be going on, we shall also devote good time to enhancing the capacity and competences of the Insurance Brokers themselves as well as forge effective collaboration with the Nigerian Insurers Association to remove all those “toxic traits” that may jeopardise attempts at projecting the industry and the Insurance Broking professionals in bad light.
On strategic engagement, we are already on the threshold of that, as evidenced by the array of eminent personalities, cutting across almost all segments of the Nigerian society that attended my investiture. Our name must continue to resonate in all quarters where high level decisions are being made concerning the economy. With your cooperation, we shall not fail.”
He assured that his tenure would devoted to professionalism, international relations, secretariat empowerment, mentoring and enhanced collaboration with the regulatory authorities.
“It is quite heartwarming for me to state that within the short time of commencement of this tenure, a delegation of the Council under my leadership had visited the National Insurance Commission during which the Commission through the Ag. Commissioner, Mr Sunday Thomas gave an assurance of support for the Council. Among other things, the duration of license renewal has been extended and the exact period will be communicated shortly to members.” he said.
