Chiamaka Ajeamo
An insurance expert, Ekarete Gam-Ikon, has charged policyholders to be at alert over the on-going recapitalisation exercise of the sector in order not to become victims of insurance companies.
According to Gam-Ikon, all critical stakeholders in the insurance industry in Nigeria seem to have their work in the recapitalisation process cut out for them except the policyholders. The insurance guru stated that policyholders are pillars of the insurance industry which earns about 80 per cent of its revenue from corporate policyholders, including the government at the federal and state levels. Consequently policy holders should be involved in the recapitalisation process.
He said, “the announcement by National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), has come six months ahead of the renewal dates for most of the insurance contracts which fall due by next January except the Group Life policy for federal civil servants which is still pending. This assumes that the policyholders have enough time to review their insurance portfolios and determine where their risks should be transferred to and on what terms and conditions.
“The work for policyholders now, whether corporate or individual, include but not limited to; requesting a recapitalisation roadmap from their respective insurers, demanding an industry-wide report from their consortium of insurance brokers, conducting an independent appraisal of the submissions received from the insurers and brokers, taking appropriate internal actions to ensure their employees are well informed about the insurance market outlook and considering a multi-year agreement with the selected or appointed insurers”.
He said that when policyholders have taken steps to do the works mentioned above, they will minimise the chances of becoming victims to insurance companies that might still have the tendencies to deliver poor services especially with regards to product specification and claims payment.