From left: Deputy President of Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria ( CIIN), and Director General Nigerian Insurers Association, Mrs Yetunde Ilori; President of CIIN, Mr. Edwin Igbiti and Commissioner For Insurance, Mr. Sunday Thomas, at the event today.
BY NKECHI NAECHE-ESEZOBOR–For the insurance industry to navigate through the “new normal,” the industry must develop a wide range of new skill sets, models and orientation which enables adaptability and agility.
These were the focus at the 2023 Insurance Industry Professionals Forum organised by the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria, holding in Abeokuta , Ogun State with the theme: ‘Sustainability of the Insurance Industry in the volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) environment.
Cross section of delegates at the conference
Sunday Thomas, commissioner for Insurance gave this advice during his opening remarks at the event Thursday, said the theme reflects the current realities of businesses in the country as well as on the global scale, as the environment has become VUCA.
Thomas said the industry must adopt strategic foresight, continuous learning and development as well as effective communication and transparency, while adding that all of these require adjusting operating models and workflow processes in doing business today.
Left: Managing Director/ CEO, Continental Re, Mr Lawrence Mutsunge Nazare; Winner of the Nite of Talents and CIIN Ambassador 2023/2024, Amb. Coker Aderonke Faidat, staff of Linkage Assurance Plc and another delegate at the event.
According to him there has been an increased awareness of climate-related risks and their potentially devastating effects on society.
This he said has increased focus on the significance of ESG factors in insurers’ underwriting business as well as in investment portfolios.” Insurers in Nigeria control assets, many of which are held over the long term, subject the insurance sector to significant ESG risk. Regulatory requirements to enhance ESG disclosures and considerations, are gaining global popularity and key stakeholders, including major institutional investors, increasingly desirous of greater ESG accountability from insurer
Furthermore, in order to successfully compete in a new VUCA environment, insurers need to develop a new set of tools and methods and apply them swiftly and thoroughly.
The CFI noted that some of the most essential taxonomies includes, strategic savviness (vision), artificial intelligence (understanding and clarity) and organizational agility (agility and virtual). As aptly put by Frederik Bisbjerg (2023)
“In a world they haven’t seen before, insurers must do what they haven’t done before if they want to stand a chance to succeed.”
On the Commission’s part, he said the Commission had implemented a lot of technological transformation programmes such as the deployment of Business Process Management (BPM) Solution and the NAICOM Portal Projects which were concluded in 2021 and went live in 2022.
He added that the BPM is currently being used to process relevant applications while the NAICOM Portal remains the focal point for generation of unique policy identification numbers for all policies as well as repository for statistical data including verification of insurance policies issued in Nigeria. An integration of Vehicle Registration (VREG) with NAICOM Portal was implemented and configuration of Virtual private Network has been completed to enable staff work remotely.
In order to also mitigate some of VUCA risks, he said the Commission has entered into a technical partnership with FSD Africa to facilitate attainment of some of the accompanying objectives of the partnership which includes:
Development of a framework for sustainable innovation in the Nigerian insurance industry in fulfillment of the Commission’s dual objectives of market development and protection (Regulating for innovation) as well as understudied the Nigerian insurance industry and developed an implementation plan for full implementation of Risk-Based Capital (RBC) framework including the key steps, frameworks, and tools required for RBC implementation.
Conducted a Diagnostic Report on ESG and also developed the ESG toolkit for the Nigerian insurance industry.
Work has also been concluded on the Guidelines on Regulatory Sandbox and the BimaLab Nigeria Insurtech Accelerators Program was also implemented in 2022 which saw to the successful mentorship and refinement of ideas/projects of 10 cohorts.
Earlier, the President of CIIN Edwin Igbiti, in a welcome address said “today’s rapidly changing world, the insurance industry is faced with unique challenges stemming from the volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA) that characterises our environment.
He said “As professionals in this field, it is crucial that we come together to address these challenges and explore innovative solutions that will ensure the sustainability of our businesses.
“This conference provides us with the perfect platform to exchange knowledge, engage in insightful discussions, and learn from the experiences and strategies of industry experts. We have a diverse range of participants here today, including insurance leaders, risk managers, policy makers, and technology innovators, who will all contribute their expertise to the thematic sessions and panel discussions.”
