You are threatening our businesses, Intermediaries tell insurers

Insurance intermediaries in the country have accused underwriters of deliberately withholding some of their commissions thereby contributing to the slow growth of their businesses.

The intermediaries include brokers, loss adjusters, agents, risk surveyors among others.

President of Risk Surveyors Association of Nigeria, RISAN, Mr. Jacob Adeosun, who disclosed this in Lagos said he was not happy with the issue and called for an agreement on an equitable scale of fees, adding that the inappropriate remuneration of surveyors would lead to exit of experienced practitioners from the industry.

According to him, the intermediaries are being owed several commissions and fees for the project they executed, running into millions of naira coupled with the fact that the present fees and commission rates being paid by insurance operators are too meager, a development the intermediaries have always frowned at.

Earlier in the year, it was learnt that brokers took their complaint on group life commission to the National Insurance Commission, NAICOM, demanding for an increase. The commission, in response to the complaint asked the underwriters and brokers to agree on a fixed rate and intimate it in their resolution.

The Nigerian Insurers Association, NIA, and Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers, NCRIB, were mandated to use a single letter headed paper to inform NAICOM on the agreed rate which the commission should adopt but efforts by the NCRIB to meet with NIA to finalise issues were unproductive as the NIA has dodged all meetings. The development compelled NAICOM to peg the commission rate at eight per cent which the brokers have not been comfortable with.