NIA takes battle on indiscipline to door steps of erring members
An interesting scenario is unfolding in the nation’s insurance industry principally to root out indiscipline in the underwriting business which has brought bad name to the image of the industry particularly in relationship with policyholders in claims settlement.
Specifically, observers of the industry say practitioners of insurance business in Nigeria should imitate their counterparts in the global environment as insurance business is the gate-keepers for other businesses to thrive.
However, hope is not lost as men of honour have taken over the leadership of the underwriting arm to enforce discipline among members to operate according to the dictates of insurance principles.
To demonstrate to members of NIA that they are here for business, the leaders of the association fired the first shot by expelling three members from the association. As a result, other members are scrambling for cover to show that insurers keep faith with promises made to policyholders.
Perhaps, members of NIA may wish to hear what the big boss of the association, Ganiyu Musa, and his team have in mind.
He said ,”we are focused mainly on discipline among member companies We have to be very harsh. We have an active disciplinary committee and conflict resolution. The committee has been strengthened and empowered. We go beyond the usual refrain or chastisement, to taking active steps to discipline erring members that have been suspended and some are about to be expelled. In a few weeks when the processes are completed, we will release the names of the erring members to the public.
“We believe it is very important to send the message to our members that when you carry the NIA badge, it should count for something. There is no amount of marketing that you can do, if the experience of the public is bad, then we cannot make progress in the industry. We believe that after cleansing ourselves of bad image, we can go back to the public to say all the good things that insurance stands for.”
When the AssurPen Online reporter asked the view of one of the Directors in the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), his response “the new leadership are in the right track, they have send a message to their members
on indiscipline in the underwriting business, what they need do is to sustain the momentum particularly on the relationship with policyholders. I strongly believe the Commission will support them to bring positive change to the image of the industry so that we can all deepen insurance penetration in the country.
