FOR an internationally recognised insurance industry, Nigerian insurance brokers are of the view that professionalism goes beyond mere paper qualification.

THE Nigerian insurance industry is made up of various arms comprising of insurers, who carry the risks of clients, the brokers who serve as intermediary between the insurer and the client as well as the loss adjusters who come in to determine the accuracy or otherwise of a loss that has been reported by the client.

These arms not withstanding, the entire sector has been beguiled with myriads of challenges that has adversely affected the perception of the sector in the eye of the public. As part of efforts to edge up the declining perception, insurance brokers came together to brainstorm on the way forward.

Insurance industry

The brokers agreed that for the insurance industry to move forward, there is need for professionalism to be entrenched in the sector.

At the 2011 international conference organised by the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) last week, the brokers were asked if they were qualified professionals or professionals with no qualification.

Mr. Oladimeji Alo, former Managing Director of Financial Institutions Training Centre (FITC) who posed the question to the brokers asked them to carve a niche for themselves by coming up with a strategy that will enhance their operations.

On whether brokers are qualified professionals or professionals without qualification, Mr. Saeed Egbeyemi of Hog Robinson Insurance Brokers stated that a lot of brokers peddle qualifications like the ACIIN or FCIIN, but lack the professionalism to actually do insurance job. “If we are truly professionals, the broking profession would have been in the forefront of driving the Nigerian economy forward” he noted.

Emphasising the need for brokers to be true professionals, Mrs. Onigogi noted that professionalism goes beyond paper qualification.

In her words “Until insurance brokers embrace unequivocal customer service, prompt claims settlement, operational transparency as well as high level of integrity, then professionalism will be far from them.” She stressed that when brokers begin to exhibit all these tenets, then public confidence will return to the insurance sector.

Alhaji Mohammed Koguna, a one time president of the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) wondered why Nigeria which is over fifty years old is not known to be a country of professionals.

In his words “We are a country with such huge population and highly educated people as well as very good professionals who even go to the extent of becoming resource persons, yet it appears Nigeria is not developing, what is wrong with us?”

Mr. O.S Awoniyi, a Deputy Commissioner of Police in Lagos State lamented that there can’t be successful professionals in a country where the political landscape is chaotic. According to him, a lot of people want to be professionals in their field but the political environment in the country does not allow it.

Awoniyi maintained that people might have good ideas, but if the politicians who are in control of the economy and the country constantly parade disjointed policies, then professionalism will not thrive.

Lending his voice to the argument, Mr. Awagu, an insurance broker stressed that professionalism goes beyond professional skills but includes integrity and personality.

The way forward

In order to enhance the level of insurance perception, Alo charged the brokers to modernise their mode of operation by deploying up to date Information Communication Technology (ICT) platforms so that clients can gain access to them any time. He queried why some brokers still parade phone numbers and websites that are not functional.

Mr. Ifeanyi Opara of Kapex Insurance Brokers called on the regulatory body and all stakeholders in the insurance industry to initiate the process where the insurance industry will be established in the Nigerian society.

According to him, the problem is not with the brokers it is just that there is no established insurance market in the country.

Corroborating his view, Alo noted that with a deep insurance market, the brokers will have cause to smile.