Federal Government urged to make insurance premium payment as priority

The Federal Government plans to evaluation the current Group Life Assurance Scheme from the yearly procedure to a long term policy, this the Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA), the umbrella of all insurance operators, has urged government to take issue of premium payment as most critical for the plan to be realistic.

The Director-General of the NIA, Sunday Thomas, who said this, noted that the planned review will be in the interest of public servants.
His words: “The planned review is welcome and will be in the interest of the public servants. However, payment of premium is most critical for whatever review to be of any meaning.”

According to the government to review the scheme will make it effective and efficient in order to address drawback, enhance the benefits derivable from the scheme and align the scheme with global best practices.
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The Permanent Secretary, Common Services Office in the OHCSF, Yemi Adelakun, who’s disclosed this in an interview, noted that a situation where government spends N5.4billion to cover the scheme and civil servants will not benefit anything except those who died, will not happen again.

According to him, “We want civil servants to take maximum benefits of the insurance scheme. A situation where government will spend N5.4billion to cover this scheme and civil servants will not benefit anything except those who died, will not happen again.

“It is just like you insure your car for a period of time, you don’t have accident, you don’t have any claim, and don’t you get no claim benefits or no claim bonus? You do. So, those are the areas we are looking at, to make sure that government is not just spending money, but we can get value for the money government is spending on Group life insurance of civil servants. “
That is my position.”

He posited that the current Group Life Scheme has not been in tune with global best practices and as such, failed to benefit civil servants across the federation as expected.

He also said the only benefits civil servants received from group life scheme was death benefit, whereas it could be extended to accidents, disabilities, residual benefits and other ancillary services.