By Favour NNABUGWU

The Nigerian Insurers Association, NIA has commended the National Insurance Commission, NAICOM, supervision pact with Ghana’s insurance industry, even as it stated that other countries will soon to follow.

Director-General of Nigerian Insurers Association, Mr. Sunday Thomas, at the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding, MoU with the National Insurance Commission of Ghana led by its Commissioner for Insurance, Mrs. Nyamikeh Kyiama, applauded the feat as a laudable one.

He said, “For me, l think it is a good development as the bilateral MoU between Ghana and Nigeria will assist in effective surveillance over the two markets”.

“You are aware that not less than eight Nigerian insurance companies are operating in Ghana and to manage contagion risks effectively, there is need to harmonise regulatory strategies and l think that is the purpose for the MoU”

Fielding questions on the impact of offshore insurance, Thomas admitted that, though the local market has not been fully explored ,but creating an enlarged scope of operation to other countries can help broaden the market horizon to know that the rules and regulations being enforced in the local market is not limited to their country alone but that it is in the interest of global market stability.

The Ghanaian insurance Commissioner, Mrs. Nyamikeh Kyiama, believed that the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding between the National Insurance Commission of Nigeria and the National Insurance Commission of Ghana was a right step in the right direction.

Kyiama noted, “Our collective commitment and efforts to formalize the co-operation and collaborative framework between our two organisations have culminated in this signing ceremony.”

“I believe that one of the ways to meet the challenges is to ensure that our regulatory and supervisory systems address the increasing presence in our markets of insurance groups and financial conglomerates, as well as financial convergence.

“For us as supervisors, there is the need therefore to co-operate to help ensure that our licensed entities are effectively supervised for the protection of insurance policyholders. Our collective efforts will also ensure the stability of our markets, minimize the risk of contagion from one jurisdiction to another, reduce supervisory gaps and avoid unnecessary supervisory duplication,” she said.