By ROSEMARY ONUOHA

Former Head of State and Head of Interim Government, Chief Ernest Shonekan has decried the low capacity of insurance operators to underwrite special risks despite the huge number of brokers in the country.

Shonekan expressed this view at the investiture of Mr. Ayodapo Shoderu as the 17th President of the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers, NCRIB, in Lagos. Shonekan observed that in spite of the number of underwriters and brokers in the industry, Nigerian companies still lack capacity to underwrite some special risks.

He, therefore, urged insurance brokers to brace up to the challenges of professionalism, industry dented image and agricultural insurance policies.

According to him, there is need for insurance companies to move out of the box and expand their businesses to be able to underwrite bigger businesses stressing that when Nigerian companies are given some special risk in oil and gas, they run abroad.

Shonekan, who was the chairman of the investiture programme, enjoined all stakeholders in the industry to join forces to formulate creative policies in agriculture, oil and gas business, adding that the operators should learn from South Africans.

Although Shonekan noted that the insurance industry image has dramatically improved in the last decade, he noted that there are rooms for improvement.

According to him, brokers are at the forefront of insurance business and they serve as midwives for insurance business without which many underwriters would have no business to underwrite.

Shonekan said that all over the world there is rapid improvement in the image of the industry, but enjoined practitioners to avoid cutting corners in expanding their individual businesses, improve on usage of technology to transact insurance businesses saying that professionalism is essential.

Shonekan who believed that something must be done to increase revenue of insurance sector to enhance its contribution to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), said that people often forgot that insurance could rally banking sector  as the case in other jurisdictions.

However, he enjoined the incumbent president of the council to brace up to the task of leading the largest body in the industry to the Promised Land and to always assist the industry when the need arises.

Also speaking at the event, the Commissioner for Insurance, Mr. Fola Daniel eulogised the outgone President of the council who incidentally was the first female president, Mrs. Laide Osijo. He further pledged that the Commission would never shut its windows against the council.

A special guest of honour and an insurance expert, Chief Joe Irukwu also pledged his unalloyed support for the incumbent president and donated 200 books valued at N820,000 to the library donated by Ayodapo Shoderu for NCRIB building.