NAICOM challenges practitioners to expose claim defaulters

The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has called on Industry operators to expose operators defaulting in claim settlement, saying such elements are destructing the sector.

The Commissioner for Insurance, Sunday Thomas, disclosed this at the 2022 Professionals’ Forum, organised by the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN) in Ogun State.

The commissioner said insurance practice in Nigeria had, in the past, good, bad and ugly moments, saying one of such bad and ugly moments, which had a significant impact on the image of the industry.

He expressed that records and statistics of unpaid claims associated with some of the operators have not been too good and must be overturned to benefit stakeholders and the growth of the industry.

He said: “I must quickly acknowledge and salute the efforts of the companies that are alert to their responsibilities of prompt claim payment and encourage them to keep the good practice.

“Insurance practitioners must be seen to be fighting the cause genuinely and collectively for the future of insurance to be as bright as we expect it. We must not continue to harbour elements of destruction in the industry.”

Thomas stressed that the issue of non-payment of genuine claims has always put the commission and the entire industry on the defensive side when it comes to discussing insurance, stating that the commission is doing all it could within the ambit of extant laws to see that the non-settlement of genuine claims is eliminated in the sector.

He admonished the professionals to leverage the positive experience from the past to build a formidable future for the industry, stressing that efforts must be collective and patriotic.

“We must all see insurance as a profession that should be a buffer for the economy while eliminating the toga of being the weak link within the financial services sector.

“We must practice insurance with passion and resilience not just as a means of livelihood that we have to survive on but, that which every insurance professional should be proud to say “I am a party to this success,” he submitted.