By Ebere Nwoji
The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), may have considered replacement of annual licensing regime for insurance brokers with longer span licensing regime.
Insurance brokers in Nigeria are required to submit their operating licenses to NAICOM for renewal annually failure to do that which earns such brokers the regulator’s sanction.
The brokers who see this as tasking and too cumbersome have been requesting for a long span licensing but NAICOM has not granted that.
But President of the Nigeria Council of Registered Insurance Brokers ( NCRIB) Mr. Shola Tinubu, at the December edition of the bi-monthly members evening of the NCRIB held in Lagos, hinted that a change in the current mode of licensing among brokers by the regulator topped agenda of discussion between his team and authority of NAICOM during a recent Courtesy visit to the commission by the brokers in Abuja.
“Relationship with the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) will be a cooperative and progressive one, in order to create a more harmonious professional and business environment for our members. Just last week, I led a team of the Council on a courtesy visit to the Commissioner for Insurance, Alhaji Mohammed Kari in Abuja. The outcome of the meeting was quite positive and remarkably encouraging. Among other issues discussed was the yearly renewal of members’ license, with an assurance that modalities for same were being worked on by the Commission to change this”, Tinubu stated.
He highlighted other issues of interest to brokers discussed during the visit as collaboration with other arms of the industry such as Nigeria Insurers Association (NIA), Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria(CIIN),Institute of Loss Adjusters of Nigeria(ILAN) among others.
“Permit me to state that since the insurance industry is a composite industry, the NCRIB will continue to advance positive collaboration with such bodies as the NIA, the CIIN and ILAN. While sustaining the tempo of technical relations with the NIA, we shall through the Association encourage underwriters to always see the sense in patronising only current members of the NCRIB for credibility. If at all, the underwriters would transact business with other “intermediariesâ€, there must be a difference in commission rates and other benefits to justify the remarkable differentiation in their competencies and experience. The Council will also identify and pursue areas of relationship to the mutual benefits of the NCRIB and ILAN.”, he stated
Tinubu, also said the issue of timely response to mails, both by NAICOM and brokers to ensure that issues were timely resolved were highlighted, adding that collaboration by the two bodies in training of brokers, particularly in regulatory compliance to mitigate fees and penalties often slammed on them was extensively discussed.
“It is my desire that we continue to parley NAICOM for our members and continually put in place internally strategies to promote self-regulation by the Council. We greatly covet the support of all members in this regards, he stated.
Insurance brokers in the country have been pushing to be put on the same pedestal with insurance underwriters in the area of life insurance license issue.
But NAICOM had turned down their request and insisted that the brokers must annually renew their operating licenses .
But at the this year’s edition of the National Insurance Conference held in Abuja, NAICOM, had said that the brokers’ annual license renewal process is becoming cumbersome to the commission itself thus it has resolved to expand the process to a longer period. NAICOM said the brokers’ annual operating license renewal, when abolished, would be replaced with longer life span license regime if it cannot grant the life licensing for now.
