The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) on Monday disbursed an undisclosed amount to the College of Insurance and Financial Management (CIFM) to train 60 professionals as Actuaries in the industry.
Dr Yeside Oyetayo, Rector CIFM made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, explained that an actuary is a person who compiles and analyses statistics and uses them to calculate insurance risks and premiums.
Oyetayo said that following the release of the fund, the college had conducted the first scholarship qualification assessment on Dec. 22, and some candidates had been notified of their success.
She noted that another qualification assessment had been scheduled to hold on Jan. 29.
“The fund disbursed covers registration of 60 candidates, their course materials, tutorials and mock examinations
“Due to the social distancing order induced by COVID-19, we are doing online tutorials in conjunction with Nigerian Society of Actuaries and the first set of scholarship awardees will write the Certified Actuarial Analysts (CAA) exams in May,” she said.
NAN reports that NAICOM had on Jan. 23, 2020, announced full sponsorship of 100 practitioners in the insurance industry to be certified as Actuarial Analysts, toward developing the market in the next five years.
Mr Sunday Thomas, Commissioner for Insurance, said that the initiative was in partnership with CIFM, Nigeria and was aimed at developing necessary professional skills and talents to drive the insurance sector.
Thomas said the move became necessary because only a few insurance companies had in-house actuaries, thus the intervention by the commission to stem the tide.
“Part of our plans is that within the next five years, we want to produce at least 100 CAA and we will take responsibility for the commitment.
“Part of the development is human capital development, as the growth potential of the industry is built on the capacity to have the required capital that will drive it forward.
“The issue of measuring and taking necessary steps for effective pricing has made the Actuarial profession to be more pertinent than ever.
“There is a need to develop young professionals and give them a future in the insurance industry, and we are determined to develop their potential and make them relevant to the sector,” Thomas said.