Yemisi Izuora
The Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Milliman, has organised a one-day free Actuarial Capacity Building Training under the Global Actuarial Initiative in Nigeria (GAIN) for human resources practitioners, senior managers involved in actuarial recruitment and executive leadership of its member companies.
The training was organised within the framework of the UNDP’s Insurance and Risk Finance Facility (IRFF) to engage key stakeholders on strategies for strengthening actuarial capacity within the insurance industry.
The Chairman of NIA, Mr Kunle Ahmed, represented by the Director-General of NIA, Mrs Bola Odukale, appreciated the efforts of UNDP and Milliman for organizing the workshop since last year.
Ahmed assured that the NIA is committed to building the capacity of local actuaries and would continue to drive it with partners for the growth of the industry.
The Chairman admitted that it is expensive to train Actuaries but urged insurance companies to commit to supporting the development of Actuaries in terms of cost and training.
He urged the participants to contribute meaningfully to the dialogue, adding that it was an opportunity to build a robust pipeline of actuarial professionals in Nigeria.
In his remark, Mr. Ikenna Orji, Programmes Specialist, UNDP, appreciated the NIA for making it seamless to connect with the insurers, noting that the project is dedicated to insurance awareness.
“I thank the NIA, especially because we can not access the insurance practitioners as a group without the support of the NIA.
“The low insurance penetration in Nigeria poses a developmental challenge, hence the UNDP intervention to dedicate this programme for insurance awareness by partnering the NIA and Milliman to develop the actuarial aspect of insurance expertise in Nigeria,” Orji said.
Mr Adrian Allott, Facilitator, Milliman GAIN, said Milliman is working with countries across the world to strengthen their actuarial capacity.
Allott said Milliman is on a mission to help Nigeria insurers develop their actuarial team to strengthen their prudential management and improve their understanding of risk and balance sheet.
No fewer than 35 NIA member companies’ representatives attended the workshop.