Tony Elumelu
BY NKECHI NAECHE-ESEZOBOR—The Chairman of Heirs Holdings, Tony Elumelu, yesterday charged the Nigerian insurance Brokerage sector to shift focus to retail, noting that the future of insurance in lies in Nigeria retail sector.
Elumelu, who gave this charge during the 60th Anniversary celebration of NCRIB in Lagos on Thursday, noted that Brokers have the capacity to lead in this area.
He stated that innovation and disruptive practices cannot occur if the operators do not broaden their thinking, he said “Trying to make profits from existing lines is not going to deepen insurance penetration, rather we must look at the blue ocean opportunities.
“This is something I task the management of the insurance companies to constantly think of in product development and deployment.
“To remain relevant in the modern business arena, the insurance broker community and, by extension, the entire Nigerian insurance industry, must embrace technology fully.”
He added that there is urgent need to develop the next generation of talent to serve the Nigerian insurance industry.
He emphasised that the broker community should rally and become the hub for the education and training of our youths to get qualified talent for the next phase of the industry, adding that “We need to raise the profile of our insurance professionals, make it attractive for the younger generation.”
He also appealed to the leadership of the council to lead the war against unethical practices, such as: premium rate cutting, delayed premium remittance, unremitted premium, overloading of premium, returned premium, fake documents, that have been the bane of the nation’s insurance industry for years.
He further, listed other fraudulent claims, collusion to defraud, mis-selling, unhealthy competition, misrepresentations, manipulation of policy conditions, self-enrichment methods disguised as marketing expenses, among others as unethical practice .
In the area of governance, he stated that the industry need to enforce strict adherence to corporate governance by all NCRIB members, while weeding out non-registered and non-compliant members from its fold.
He noted that the non-registered brokers are the ones tarnishing the image of the broking profession and the industry at large.
Elumelu called on the insurance operators to create more awareness about insurance and showcase the value of insurance to the public, promoting participation, most especially in the retail space.
