Stories By Rosemary Onuoha

PRESIDENT of the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers, (NCRIB), Mr. Sola Tinubu, has said that all civil servants that died last year will not get benefit from group life insurance cover as the federal government did not pay premium for the cover.

Disclosing this at the quarterly press briefing organised by the Council in Lagos last week, Tinubu said that the move is in line with the ‘no premium, no cover’ policy of the insurance sector.

Tinubu said the policy has come to stay and the industry will not grant cover to anybody who fails to back up insurance policy agreement with premium payment. He said, “The federal government’s group life insurance cover was not paid for in 2017, as such, no cover was granted.”

Speaking on delayed claims payment, Tinubu said that insurance firms that delay in payment of genuine claims may have to pay such claims with interest if the draft for amendment of the 2003 Insurance Act presented to the Ministry of Finance scales through the necessary screening. He said this is to facilitate timely payment of genuine claims among insurance underwriters. According to him most of the issues that will enhance the growth and development of the insurance sector have been enshrined in the draft and have been sent to the Ministry of Finance which will act on it and send to Ministry of Justice, then to the executive arm of the government before it gets to the lawmakers for necessary actions that will transform it into an Act.

Tinubu said that the Ministry of Finance promised that when the amended bill comes out, the industry would have nothing less than a consolidated bill.

It will be recalled that the process to have a consolidated insurance Act has been on for over eight years   with the   document suffering   series of delays due to government’s indifference towards insurance.  On micro insurance, Tinubu, said the new distribution channels approved by NAICOM are meant to ensure all inclusive insurance services. According to him, it is meant to ensure that rural dwellers have access to insurance. He said the new guidelines released by the regulator was meant to create new people that will market the micro insurance products but that the guideline did not preclude brokers from selling micro insurance.