Ebere Nwoji
The National Insurance Commission, (NAICOM) has said it will come up with fresh guidelines for the recapitalisation of insurance sector that will take care of the negative impact of the COVID19 and its attendant impact on businesses.
The Commissioner for Insurance, Mr. Sunday Thomas, who stated this yesterday during an online conference titled: “Post COVID19: Impact on Insurance Industry,” organised by the Finance Institution Training Centre (FITC) in collaboration with NAICOM, said the regulatory body is currently studying the impact of the pandemic on businesses and will at the end of the study, restrategise and come up with a data-based, result-oriented regulatory model.
Thomas, said after the pandemic, there would be change in regulation, adding that the commission aside reviewing its recapitalisation, and consolidation initiatives would focus on market development responsibility and knowledge-based development .
“Things cannot remain the same; the distribution pattern cannot be the same for brokers and underwriters cannot continue from end to end systemic terms of products patterns and claims management. There will be data extraction for the industry. Consumers will know there is benefit in insurance currently. Illiteracy is generally felt more in insurance even by the educated class,” he said.
He said generally, insurance, leveraging on the COVID-19 experience, should do more than they were doing before .
The brokers, according to him, must change their way of doing things looking at collaboration with underwriters in creating products and reduce competition.
Also speaking, Managing Director of Cornerstone Insurance Plc, Mr. Ganiyu Musa, said COVID -19 will no doubt bring about job losses and pay cuts .
He said its major concerns now is revenue challenge, observing that there will be escalation in claims just as its devastating impact on investment and investment returns is unspeakable.
