Nigeria’s policyholders purchased insurance coverage to the tune of N3.3 trillion to insure their lives, assets, among others, in the last five years, LEADERSHIP can now reveal.
The triumph was achieved due to several developmental policy reforms of the federal government through the National Insurance Community (NAICOM), headed by the current commissioner for Insurance, Sunday Olorundare Thomas, to deepen insurance acceptance in the country as well as increased publicity from insurance operators in the country.
To this end, the insurance industry, comprising over 60 underwriting companies reaped N3.3 trillion gross premium income between 2019, when, coincidentally, Thomas was the Acting Commissioner and last year, that is, 2023 financial year end.
Similarly, the insurance industry has paid about 50 per cent of the N3.3 trillion Gross Premium Income(GPI), translating to about N1.7 trillion as claims to policyholders who suffered insured risks within those years.
This shows that operators have improved and responsive in the area of payment of genuine claims, a development that is gradually erasing the negative perception of insurance in Nigeria.
In 2019, the gross premium income of the industry was N508.2 billion, grew to N514.6 billion in 2020 and jumped to N621 billion in 2021 financial year.
However, in 2022, the industry had N726 billion, with market observers expecting that, by the time all underwriting firms released their 2023 full year financial report to the public, the industry would have grown its premium income for 2023 to N1 trillion.
At the last Insurers’ Committee meeting in December, 2023, the head, Corporate Communications and Market Development at NAICOM, Rasaaq Salami, attributed the recent growth of the industry to several reforms the insurance industry regulator undertook, especially under the current administration of Sunday Thomas.
According to him , “In 2021, we had gross premium income of N621 billion and by 2022 we had N726 billion and by half year of 2023 we had N551 billion. With the third quarter report, we have already exceeded the annual premium of last year 2022 and by the time we close this year, we might be hitting the N1trillion mark and based on that assessment, we think the industry has performed very well.”
Similarly, the managing director/CEO, Royal Exchange General Insurance Company (REGIC), Ebelechukwu Nwachukwu, while explaining reasons for insurance industry growth linked it to continuous partnership with relevant insurance stakeholders to deepen penetration and improve acceptance in the country.
Nwachukwu, who is also the chairman of the sub-publicity committee of the Insurers Committee, noted that, digitalisation, product development, and the fact that consumers now have several platforms to interact with their insurers on a daily basis and different bodies to express grievances, have all made the industry stronger in recent times.
Improved positive customer’s experience, she believes, is critical in the next phase of insurance sub-sector development , promising that operators have and will continue to prioritise superior customer service delivery.
Thomas was earlier made the acting commissioner for insurance/CEO of NAICOM, in August 2019, when the then Commissioner, Muhammad Kari left the regulator after serving out his term. Thomas was later confirmed as the substantive commissioner in 2020, during the Covid-19 era, following a series of reforms he introduced and the way the industry responded to the pandemic through free insurance coverage for health workers.
With a four-year term ending in the current year, there are pleas from industry’s quotas that Thomas be allowed a second term in office to conclude most of the initiatives he had embarked on, to grow the insurance industry.
On his part, the executive secretary/CEO, Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB), Tope Adaramola, applauded his leadership skills which he deployed effectively to settled disputes, thereby, bringing sanity into the industry, even as he praised him for consulting industry stakeholders in the area of policy formulation.
During his reign, he said, the industry had more admirers in the government quotas through his lobby power, as well as gave the industry recognition as well as enhanced its image in National discourse.
Citing the way he spare-headed the industry palliatives during Covid-19 era, which earned the then industry president Buhari ’s praise, he noted that, under his watch, the industry has grown about 100 per cent in gross premium income from about N500 billion when he came on board to about N1 trillion in the last financial year.
He, however, implored him to further expand his consultation in the industry to address grey areas on matters that affect operators, advising him to also increase lobby in the government’ quota to increase insurance adoption in government at states and federal levels, a development, he said, will not only increase insurance penetration but ensure the sub-sector plays a significant roles in national discourse.
“The regulator needs to work more on its lobbying power, and comes up with policy directives that will ensure the industry makes inroads in entertainment, Information and Communications Sector(ICT) and Sports to expand the coverage of the industry, thereby, expanding its profitability and impacts,” he pointed out.
Some of the policies that shaped the industry, under his watch are: strict implementation of the Corporate governance code, 10-yr tenure limit, sanctioning non-claims paying companies, collaboration with states and critical federal government agencies on enforcement of insurance, launching of insurance industry portal, risk-based supervision exercise, playing critical roles in formulation and processing of Consolidated insurance bills, lobbying government agencies to insure assets and lives, leading the industry to a N1 trillion GPI, among others, even as market observers expect these achievements to win him second term ticket in office.
