As consumers of insurance products and services complain over sale of fake policies and delay in payment of claims, among others, the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) has taken strategic steps towards addressing their complaints.
The CPC is collaborating with key stakeholders in the insurance sector in order to proffer solutions to the various challenges confronting insurance consumers in Nigeria.
The Council, together with Pastures Consult Limited and Congress International Limited-publishers of DIVIDEND- the magazine for local government- as well as some stakeholders in the insurance sector, has concluded plans for the convocation of a consumers’ colloquium.
The colloquium, which is scheduled to hold from December 8-9, 2016 at the Airport Hotel in Lagos, has as its theme: “100 Years After: Can Insurance Work in Nigeria?”
Coordinator of the project, Mr. Johnson Adedapo, said in a statement that the objective of the consumer colloquium was to proffer solutions to issues confronting consumers in the nation’s insurance sector.
According to Adedapo, “The colloquium seeks to bring together stakeholders from the insurance industry, regulatory environment, and policy making institutions, including consumers and the media, to identify the challenges facing consumers in the industry, proffer the way forward and inspire commitment from all stakeholders.
“These issues or challenges some of which stare us glaringly in the face include the sale of fake insurance policies, delay in payments of insurance claims and reputation of claims, among others.
“The colloquium promises to foster a close interaction with various insurance products and allied solutions as well as a highly informative capacity building to raise the standard of insurance practice in Nigeria.
“The colloquium will set a new agenda for the insurance industry as well as set a platform for empowerment of citizens.
“This is very relevant and timely, especially as it will enable the society at large to understand the workings of insurance and trigger fresh waves of empowerment of the citizens and raise public awareness about the industry.”
Adedapo added that the project would ensure the creation of a synergy and common inspiration in the insurance sector for actions to deal with identified challenges.
“The colloquium seeks to bring stakeholders together to identify the problems militating against the deepening of insurance practice in Nigeria close to 100 years after its advent, and put issues on the front burner to find a way forward,” he added.
He said that the two-day colloquium (December 8-9, 2016) would be the first of its kind in the country, pointing out that the CPC and its collaborators were hopeful that the event would facilitate in-depth discussions on the strategies for repositioning the industry.
