The adoption of second module of the Nigeria Insurance Industry Database (NIID) on Marine Insurance, will guarantee reduction in fake marine insurance certificates, the Executive Director, General Business, Leadway Assurance Plc, Adetola Adegbayi has said.
Adegbayi made the remark at a training programme organised by Leadway Assurance for the National Association of Insurance and Pension Correspondents (NAIPCO) in Lagos.
Adebgayi, observed that marine insurance class of business in Nigeria has suffered serious neglect and malpractices but commended the move by the industry to replicate NIID in marine insurance in a bid to check fake certificates online.
The NIID is a central record of all insured vehicles in Nigeria Developed by the umbrella body of insurance underwriters, the Nigeria Insurers Association (NIA), the NIID serves as a tool that ensures that only insured vehicles are driven on Nigerian roads. It also checkmates the activities of fake insurance operators. It is also used by authorised law enforcement agencies to enforce motor insurance law.
The model has been enforced in some states on motor insurance while the insurers are seriously making moves to extend it to marine insurance.
Adegbayi said the policy will stem the tide of marine insurance certificate faking.
She expressed regret that most people were yet to understand that cargoes coming into Nigeria should be insured, adding that this has given rise to increase in fake certificates in the system.
On aviation insurance, she attributed high cost of aviation insurance in Nigeria to effects of international aviation business, conversion rate of Forex.
“I think the challenge for premium in aviation is very massive, basically in terms of the premiums going up. You know we don’t manufacture aircraft here in Nigeria, aircrafts are very expensive. And because aircrafts are very expensive, any risk to be charged in dollars when converted to Naira and the aviation business owners earn their income in Naira, they now want to convert that dollars against Naira,
by the time they convert that to Naira , they have to pay high. If I were them too, I will cry, because at the end of the day, bulk of their money may be, 40 per cent of it will now be going into insurance. Typically, 30 per cent of earnings go into insurance worldwide but when you now go to an environment where they are not earning in dollars and assets are priced in dollars and they too insure in dollars, it is a difficult business,” she stated,
