NCRIB appeals to NAICOM on certified list of brokers

The Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) has appealed to the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) to publish at regular intervals the approved list of insurance brokers operating in the industry that have met statutory requirements.

The President of the Council, Kayode Okunoren, made the appeal at the April, 2016 members’ evening in Lagos, that the approved list have increased from 300 to 314 and it was necessary for the commission to make this public practitioners who have satisfied their renewal requirement as they are cleared by the commission.

He told members “Recently, the commission commenced the publication of brokers list that had satisfied the renewal requirements as at the date of the publication in line with the commission’s practice. But unfortunately, rumour had made the rounds that only the 300 brokers on the list as at the first publication were the only licenced operators in the market, sending misleading signals to the insuring public. This information is quite erroneous as the number has increased to about 314 members as at today.

“Suffice it to note that it is the statutory responsibility of NAICOM to make public the list of practitioners who have satisfied their renewal requirement as they are cleared by the commission. The list will keep coming in batches as not all brokers have the same renewal dates and that explains the differentiation in the period of approval of their licenses by the commission.”

The brokers boss enjoined his professional colleagues who have not satisfied the renewal requirements to so as soon as possible to avoid the penalty from the regulatory body. According to him, the council and the commission had continued to forge effective collaboration in the area of statutory registration.

It will be recalled that the commission released the list of 300 insurance brokers it has given approval to undertake brokerage business in the industry. The names of the approved insurance brokers was published on the website of the commission. Besides, the commission in December 2015, published the names of 108 insurance brokers for their failure to meet the regulatory requirements especially failure to renew their licences.

Industry operators said that majority of the erring firms were sanctioned for violating certain provisions of the Insurance Act 2003, such as late submission of their returns to the regulatory body, while some did not even submit returns for many years, non-renewal of operating licence, among other infractions.

When their names were made public, the commission explained that the affected insurance brokers would not be allowed to renew their operating licences, while those who are still interested to continue operating in the insurance industry would be required to apply for a fresh licence.