Rosemary ONUOHA

Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Financial Institutions Training Centre, FITC, Dr. Lucy Newman, has charged Nigerian insurers to be self-reliant in-terms of technical expertise, especially in underwriting large and complex risks like oil and gas.

Lucy said that setting up the right structure, hiring, training and retaining the right employees are critical success factors.

She said that except the right employees are recruited, trained and empowered, the company can only expect minor incremental progress where leap-frogging is possible.

She said, “We need organisations with defined roles based on required competencies and then place people with high degree of capacity to deliver on those roles. Insurance products/risks have their peculiarities that call for the specialised skills of insurance practitioners. An insurer must have detailed and varied knowledge of the business and lives of insurance consumers, to be able to design an appropriate policy cover.

“Where this knowledge is absent and the unique skills are unavailable, the quality of insurance policies would not only be substandard, but also it will endanger the virility of the insurance company and the financial inclusion strategy itself.

“To create and deliver value to its stakeholders while still meeting the objectives of financial inclusion, insurance companies need to develop ingenious solutions to the emerging financial inclusion challenges.

“The insurance market is dynamic and constantly changing at times of crisis. Its operation relies on an adequate supply of financial and human capital. Of the two ‘capitals’, the industry seems to be in a better shape in financial capital management and still needs to develop its human capital. This implies that supply of talented workers with a passion for risk management and insurance should be a critical issue for the insurance industry,” she said.

Newman said that in a rapidly evolving industry such as the insurance industry, responsiveness to customer needs is a crucial test of the insurance company’s survival; hence the legacy of sub-optimal expertise restraining the development of the local insurance industry should quickly be a thing of the past.

According to her, success of the financial inclusion strategy will require Nigerian insurers to be at the forefront, backed by a healthy mix of experts and specialists in their own field, who can stand as pillars supporting the organisations, adding that the key to corporate prosperity and the success of the financial inclusion strategy for the insurance industry is the placement of high premium on the human capital.

“We need to have clarity and objectivity in our recruitment processes, as well as scientifically deriving development processes that are aligned to performance measurement and management process. When we have the applicable corporate cultures, work tools and good policies, our people will remain, happy and very productive. This is where human capital alignment is imperative.

Management of insurance companies need to ensure that their Human Capital strategy aligns with the required industry need. If we are to achieve the goals of financial inclusion for the insurance industry, then we will have to build our capacities for market intelligence, product innovation, selling skills and problem solving,” she said.