By ROSEMARY ONUOHA

Following the commencement of the ‘no premium no cover’ directive from the 1st of January this year, insurance brokers said they are ready to challenge any underwriter that by-passes them to collect businesses originally rejected.

Accordingly, the brokers said they will speedily report such underwriter to the National Insurance Commission, NAICOM.

President, Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers, NCRIB, Mrs. Laide Osijo who disclosed this in Lagos, said that brokers have been enjoined to report underwriters who by-pass them to take a business they rejected, stressing that the operators have all agreed to abide by the policy, which would bring sanity to the industry.

She said that NAICOM will soon be meeting with representatives of underwriters and brokers to help resolve the growing mis-trust between underwriters and brokers on the implementation of the policy.

It was learnt that brokers are worried that underwriters may by-pass them to provide cover for businesses rejected due to non payment of premium.

As such, Osijo said the operators have agreed with NAICOM to call the stakeholders who are representatives of the brokers and underwriters to sit and chart the way forward for the implementation of the policy.

She noted that the operators have to agree on the modalities for the implementation of the policy, adding that during the meeting all challenges that may clog the policy will be ironed.

She said, “These issues are fundamental to the operations of brokers, for 80 per cent of insurance business in the country is done through brokers. If we follow the law and underwriters refuse to follow, the whole thing would be a mess. We would try to ensure we get the modalities as to how to go about the policy.”

She lauded the decision by NAICOM to bring sanity into the industry through the policy, adding that the idea of underwriters accusing brokers of non remittance of premium will now be a thing of the past with the introduction of the policy.

“According to the Commissioner for Insurance, Fola Daniel, when they were doing verification of accounts of brokers and underwriters, they observed that most of the outstanding premium that brokers were accused of was not actually true. Some of the underwriters raised their books to cover their expenses.”

“NAICOM observed the mis-representations and sanctioned the errant underwriters. Some brokers who erred by keeping premium beyond the stipulated date were also sanctioned. I am not saying that brokers are perfect, but most of the accusations by underwriters are not really true. NAICOM observed that most of the withheld premiums are receivables,” she said.