By Rosemary Onuoha

In a bid at repositioning for greater service  delivery and to revitalize its impact and relevance in the Nigerian financial services sector and that of the insurance industry in particular, the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN), has set in motion a Strategy Advisory Exercise to identify key issues bordering on the growth and advancement of the insurance industry in the country.

Also, the exercise will articulate actionable solutions and delineate key strategic imperatives for the Institute within a workable framework in the next five years and beyond.

At a two-day retreat in Lagos, facilitated by KPMG, certain key economic agenda that could aid the growth and engender relevance for the insurance industry in Nigeria were x-rayed particularly at the advocacy level which has been considered one major area that the Institute should concertedly work towards in entrenching an enduring insurance culture amongst Nigerians at all levels. The Retreat also provided a platform for participants to incubate ideas that will chart a new course for the Institute in its resolve to achieving the status of a mega Institute. The retreat had in attendance chief executives of insurance companies in the country, stakeholders from allied sectors of the industry, financial services and a cross section of members of the Institute’s Governing Council.

Mr. Kola Ahmed, Director General of the CIIN said that the Strategy Advisory Exercise is necessitated by the CIIN Governing Council’s continuous commitment to the actualisation of the Institute’s statutory responsibilities as enshrined in Act 22 of 1993 of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; the chief of which is the determination of the standards of skill and knowledge to be possessed by practitioners for the ethical and professional delivery of insurance services in a dynamic and peculiar Nigerian business environment.

Ahmed also expressed the Institute’s appreciation to the Management of Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc, for bringing into fruition the hosting of the retreat in the history of the Institute’s life cycle. He urged other chief executives in the industry to borrow a leaf from Sovereign Trust by actively supporting the cause of the Institute from time to time in ensuring that the vision of remaining a relevant professional body amongst the comity of professional bodies in the country is sustained in an enviable manner.

Chairman of CIIN’s Media and Publicity Committee and Managing Director of Sovereign Trust, Mr. Wale Onaolapo reiterated the company’s commitment to upholding the Institute’s ideals of promoting knowledge, trust and efficiency amongst practitioners of the Insurance business both within and outside the shores of the country.