Insurance industry records N250bn gross premium income
By The Rainbow
The insurance industry recorded N250 billion Gross Premium Income in 2012, the Commissioner for Insurance, National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Mr Fola Daniel, has said.
Daniel made this known at the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN) 2013 Annual Dinner on Friday night in Lagos.
The event featured the Investiture of Mr Fatai Kayode Lawal as the 45th President of the institute.
Daniel said that the increase from N157 billion in 2010 to N250 billion was due to the implementation of the Market Development and Restructuring Initiative (MDRI).
'The realities of the past three years show that the number of those insured increased from 500, 000 to 1.5 million in 2012.
'This shows that the number of the insuring public tripled within three years.
'Foreign equity ratio also increased from three in 2010 to 10 in 2012, while capacity in the oil and gas sector, which was less than 10 per cent, increased to 40 per cent in 2012,' Daniel said.
According to him, in spite of these achievements, the industry has a long way to go to meet up with developed countries including South Africa.
The NAICOM commissioner urged the new CIIN president to ensure that his administration would build on the success of the initiative.
He said that the CIIN was in the best position to bring the industry players together to chart the way forward.
He urged that the institute should have a think tank to deliberate on national issues and advise accordingly.
Daniel gave the assurance that the commission would continue to take corrective steps to move the industry forward as part of its regulatory mandate.
He said that the commission's disciplinary actions were designed to develop the insurance industry.
The Chairman of the occasion, Mr Akintola Williams, urged insurance operators to provide the best way to tackle risks in the face of threats to businesses.
Williams, a former President, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, urged all professionals to be in the vanguard of tackling the nation's problems.
He said that professionals were aware of the Federal Government's good intentions through its transformation agenda.
Williams hoped that the insurance industry pool of funds would help operators to tackle emerging risks as well as provide a platform to check foreign invasion of the industry.
The immediate past CIIN President, Dr Wole Adetimehin, urged Lawal to keep the institute's flag flying.
He urged members of the institute and the media to cooperate with Lawal to make his tenure successful.
In his acceptance speech, Lawal promised that his administration would hasten the construction of the College of Insurance and Financial Management.
NAN reports that Lawal was a former Chairman of the College of Insurance and Financial Management Board.
He was also a Chief Examiner of the CIIN. (NAN)