The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) says it will release a new recapitalisation guideline for insurance and reinsurance companies after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mr Sunday Thomas, the Commissioner for Insurance and Chief Executive Officer of NAICOM, said this on Tuesday at an online meeting of insurance stakeholders titled `Post COVID- 19: Impact on the Insurance Industry’. Thomas said that the pillars that formed the initial recapitalisation objectives like consolidation, foreign direct investments and local investors have been hindered unrealistic by the pandemic.
According to him, the commission is re-strategising, factoring this into the scene and creating different models to see which will be more result-oriented.
“The game has changed. Immediately we are pitched out of this pandemic, of course, we are going to release a new guideline with respect to the insurance recapitalisation exercise.
“The Commission will be coming up with a structured way to ensure that the industry will have the necessary data to drive the business.
“We will look into our service delivery and awareness creation,’’ he assured.
Thomas, who described insurance as sensitive, appealed to brokers and underwriters to improve their response to claims payment.
Meanwhile, Mrs Rashidat Adebisi, an Executive Director at AXA Mansard Insurance Plc, has appealed to operators to leverage opportunities created by the pandemic to build innovations that would improve the sector.
Also speaking on the effect of the pandemic on jobs in the sector, Mr Ganiyu Musa, the Group Managing Director of Cornerstone Insurance Plc, urged employers to communicate to employees in a humane manner.
“What I tell people is that your best guarantee for job protection is improvement and efficiency. Clearly, no organisation will like to lose their most important resources.
“Communication is key, employers must communicate clearly in an unambiguous manner,’’ he said.
NAICOM had fixed the deadline for recapitalisation of the insurance and reinsurance companies for June 30, 2020 but later extended it to Dec. 31, 2020 before the pandemic. The meeting organised by NAICOM in collaboration with FITCWebinar, attracted various insurance stakeholders from the continent.
