L-R: Managing Director/ CEO Sunu Assurance PLC Samuel Ogbodu; member of the Publicity committee, Jide Orimolade; Director, Corporate Affairs and Market Development at NAICOM, Rasaaq Salami; Managing Director/ CEO, Universal Insurance PLC, Ben Ujoatuonu and Managing Director/ CEO Guinea Insurance PLC at the 13th meeting of Insurance Industry Committee (IIC),held in Lagos recently.
BY NKECHI NAECHE-ESEZOBOR— With the released of the new revised guidelines on Bancassurance by the National Insurance Commission ( NAICOM), insurance companies can now partner with more banks without restrictions.
In a chat with Insurance Editors
after the 13th meeting of Insurance Industry Committee (IIC), a member of the Publicity committee, Jide Orimolade said the development was applauded by operators, adding that it would ensure fair play by operators in the insurance market.
“This would disable exclusivity, which is also in line with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s regulation that prescribes that a commercial bank cannot propose the product of only the insurance company they were partnering with to a consumer.”
On performance of the industry in 2022, Director, Corporate Affairs and Market Development at NAICOM, Rasaaq Salami, said: “Lots of indices are looking upward for the industry this year, which is very encouraging because of a number of factors, such as the IIC meeting. The IIC is a meeting point for regulators and operators to resolve issues and also come up with common processes and objectives on what should be done.
“This has helped in improving the performance of the industry and gradually reducing friction between the regulator and the operators. We hope that the situation will be maintained in the coming years.”
On IFRS-27, he said from January 1st, 2023, insurance companies in Nigeria are to prepare their financial statements in compliance with the IFRS -17.
He assured that operators are ready for the IFRS-17, though there could be issues to address but optimistic that 2023 will be visible for takeoff.
He said the commission is ready to render the necessary assistance within its regulatory power to support the companies on IFRS-17.
