‘Why Nigerians should insure their assets’

THE Chairman ,Nigeria Council of Registered Insurance Brokers ( NCRIB), Abuja Chapter, Bar. Ifeanyi Okpara  has  given reasons why Nigerians should get insurance cover for their businesses and other areas of insurance coverage. 

  To him it is no longer business as usual that an insurance companies would deny them the payment of their claims when necessary which  he said are one of the reasons Nigerians are no longer interested to buy insurance coverage .  

   According to him , the insurance Act of 2003 brought about orderliness in the sector contrary to the old practice before the establishment of the Act. 

  “The unfortunate thing I think is that Nigerians are still living in the old . There is this apathy that Nigeria person do not believe in insurance and it is a very unfortunate thing because they are still living in the past.  I remember in the 60s , 70s , Infact before the emergence of insurance Act in 2003 , the market was unregulated , there was nothing like tasking the parties so because of that the practitioners felt that they were free to do whatever they like . The insurance companies will collect premium from clients intending that they have insured them but when they have claims they will not pay and the people will go scut free because there are no laws guiding the companies . 

  “So this was the order that prevailed at that time . When government realised that , they said this thing cannot continue because if we properly monitor and regulate this sector it can make meaningful contribution to the economy and not just that even by way of properly indemnifying those we insured . If you properly indemnify somebody and he suffers a loss if you able to restore her after the incident you have helped him to remain in business . In that way you are contributing to the wellbeing of the economy . 

  “In a situation where somebody is insured and the peril occurred and he has not been indemnified  definitely he cannot come back to the business . But with the coming of insurance Act of 2003  you discovered that when somebody is insured he is indemnified and if the insurance company that insured him reneges of indemnifying him the act provides for punishments and sanctions . 

  “Since the coming of insurance Act of 2003 , the insurance practitioners are conscious of provision for that act and all the punishment and sanctions that are contained there in . This makes everybody now sits up . If a client have a genuine claims , the insurance company is bound to settle him . If they settle him you have restored him to a level you are before the coming of the incident .