By ROSMARY ONUOHA

Mr. Remi Olowude has said that he will refocus the Nigerian Insurers Associating NIA to win support and respect from all stakeholders in the Nigerian economy, particularly the Executive and Legislative arms of government, the Judiciary as well as the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).

Olowude who was elected the new Chairman of the NIA at the annual general meeting of the association last week said during his acceptance speech that he will improve the quality of insurance education and practice in the country.

He said “I will focus on building better platforms of communication between NIA and all NIA-member companies; working with my predecessors in office to move NIA to the next level; improving relationship between NIA and its regulatory agencies, including NAICOM, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the National Pension Commission (PENCOM); collaborating with other bodies in the trade industry to deepen insurance penetration in Nigeria as well as promoting ethical standards amongst NIA-member companies and the larger insurance industry to earn the respect that we honestly deserve.”

Olowude said that all around us, we see challenges and opportunities that abound in our industry and the nation’s economy such as restrictive laws on insurance practice; issues of multiple taxation; inefficiency of the power sector; as well as Nigeria Content Policy on Oil and Gas.

Other challenges, according to him, are ensuring the workability of the Market Agreement; ensuring greater insurance awareness and penetration as well as migration to IFRS and, in particular, the new Enterprise Risk Management System which is meant to engender good corporate governance, and promote stability and growth of the industry.

Olowude said “We shall look more inwards to take advantage of the untapped potential demand for insurance in Nigeria, for this is a major step to engender the relevance of our business to the growth of our nation.”

Towards achieving this goal, Olowude said “We shall take deliberate steps to encourage greater collaboration among our members and all insurance practitioners. We should see one another as collaborators even as we encourage healthy competition.

To actualize this laudable and desirable goal, we hope to institute ‘Insurance Joint Sessions’, which will bring together all insurance sector groups. The forum will serve as a platform for deliberations on critical industry issues. It is proposed that the sessions be chaired by respected elders of the insurance industry, either jointly or on a rotational basis.”

He stated that the NIA, as a trade group, has the primary responsibility of protecting the interest of its members, adding “To this end, we shall utilize our collective knowledge, strength and willpower to fulfill this mandate. In addition, we shall unrelentingly promote awareness and education of insurance among the populace.