TheNewsGuru

Tag: Brokers

  • Banana Island: Brokers condemn builders’ negligence

    Banana Island: Brokers condemn builders’ negligence

    The Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) on Thursday expressed regret over the collapse of a seven-storey building at Banana Island in Lagos State.

    The seven-storey building, under construction at Banana Island, Ikoyi, collapsed on Wednesday at about 5:00p.m., while concreting was ongoing on the sixth floor.

    The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), in a statement, said no death was recorded, but workers were trapped in the building and a reponse team had been mobilised to search for those trapped  in the building.

    Mr Rotimi Edu, President of NCRIB, also in a statement made available in Lagos, described the incident as a case of negligence by the building experts who undertook the construction.

    “Though, no casualty was reported, the collapse brings to questioning the continuous recalcitrance of building contractors to adhere to extant regulatory prescriptions concerning public buildings in the country,” Edu said.

    According to him, the sensitivity of public buildings necessitates the need for builders and owners to imbibe insurance policies.

    He listed such policies as the Public Liability, Contractors All Risk (CAR) and other prescription of Sections 64 & 65 of the Insurance Act, with regards to public buildings.

    The NCRIB president said if these insurance policies have been in place, the risk of total loss incurred by the owners of the collapsed buildings would have been greatly reduced.

    Edu called on the Lagos State Government to expedite investigation on the cause of the building collapse.

    He also advised the state government to urgently apprise the public with the result of the findings and actions to be taken, to avert future building infractions in the state.

    Recalled that a similar incident of collapse of a high-rise block of flats, under construction at Ikoyi in Lagos, occurred in Nov. 2021.

    The incident which recorded loss of lives attracted public condemnation.

  • Brokers urged to leverage digital solutions for sustainable business

    Brokers urged to leverage digital solutions for sustainable business

    Insurance brokers have been advised to leverage digital solutions to help sustain their businesses amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Speaking during the general meeting of the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (Lagos Area Committee), Obafemi Oshinowo, Director, L&D, Leadway Assurance Company Limited, said the world has gone digital and there is no going back; therefore, brokers cannot be left behind.

    According to Oshinowo, the digital approach digital is customer and incorporates data-driven automation to create new value. He therefore advised that digital solutions that should be delivered to customers should also be customer-led and channeled to digital customers. He explained that digital customers are made up of the millennials and the generation Z, adding that while the former represents two billion people or 27 percent of the global population, the later represents 1.8 billion people and 24 percent of the global population.

    “These are the people that consume a lot of data and they are the market we need to sell differently to… He stressed that for brokers to attract these markets, they need to become digital brokers and imbibe new ways of doing business. Digital brokers use less papers, depend on web portal and mobile apps, automates processes and interacts digitally, mines new opportunities through data driven tools and technology, are constantly evolving and growing their client base and servicing various customer segments,” he said.

    Earlier, in his welcome address, Rotimi Olukorede, Chairman of the Lagos Area Committee of NCRIB, welcomed participants while thanking the sponsors of the event. Linkage Assurance, hinted that in building a sustainable business, insurance, brokers must understand how to satisfy their customers in the new norm and increasing market penetration in Nigeria.

    “The old ways of doing things may not carry us to the next level. To move to next level, we need to use digital solutions. We need to unite together to make progress,” Olukorede told participants.

    Also speaking at the hybrid event (zoom and physical), Mrs. Bola Onigbogi, President, NCRIB praised the Lagos State Chapter for its pioneering role in providing thought-leadership within the marketing arm of the insurance industry. She explained that the topic for the day was especially important as one cannot continue to do the same thing over and over again and expect different results, stressing that there is a need to retool strategies towards boosting insurance penetration in Nigeria.

    Dr. Onigbogi noted that there is no measure of efforts put into digital knowledge that can be too much, adding that members would need to imbibe contemporary trends in digital marketing to build sustainable businesses. She also used the opportunity to pledge her support and continually give her unselfish devotion to the growth and sustenance of the council.

    Managing Director, Linkage Assurance Plc, Daniel Braie, sponsors of the event, said Linkage Assurance partnered NCRIB (LAC) to put up the event because the company wants to be instrumental to the growth of insurance business in Nigeria. He said Linkage Assurance has hosted similar events in Abuja, Kaduna, Port Harcourt and now Lagos, stressing that Linkage Assurance is the first company to power such event in the market. He said Linkage Assurance has recorded great feats in the sector which would not have been possible without the support of the brokers.

     

  • Photos: Brokers Undergo Training on AML/CFT Training

    Photos: Brokers Undergo Training on AML/CFT Training

    In compliance with the requirement of the National Insurance Commission, the regulatory body of the insurance industry, members of the Lagos Area Committee (LAC) of the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB), underwent a training on Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Financing of Terrorists (AML/CFT) at the Insurance Brokers House in Yaba, Lagos, last Thursday.

    The training is essentially to ensure that brokers are consciously or unconsciously not used to launder illicit money not used as conduit pipes to finance terrorism.

    Welcoming participants to the training, the Lagos Area Committee Chairman, Mrs. Bukola Ifemade, explained that the training is in compliance with the requirements of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM). “By regulatory requirements, it is very important for us to attend at least one training in a year like this one which is organised in partnership with AXA Mansard,” she said, adding that, “It is the wish of the executive members of the Lagos Area Council of NCRIB to see every broker do well and free from sanctions as a result of infractions. I welcome each of us to this training I wish us the best and a very nice day.”

    The full-day training was facilitated by LeishTon Centre for Leadership and Governance Thinking and fully attended by members of the LAC. McLeish Otuedon, Director, LeishTon Centre for Leadership and Governance Thinking, led the highly engaging and interactive training.

    Brokers were provided leading practice insights into the world of AML/CFT as well as the legal and regulatory frameworks guiding it, money laundering offences, predicate offences and sanctions, risk-based approach to effective to effective AML/CFT among others.

    In a chat with the media, Ifemade while further giving rationale behind the training said that every year, practitioners in the industry, particularly brokers, being the professional marketing arm are mandated to have these trainings at least once in a year, with certificates.

    Trainings are to be provided by certified personnel or organisation on anti-money laundering. She added that it is also in line with meeting the requirements of the Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA). “Particularly at this time, asides meeting the regulatory requirements, there is going to be an international body, GIABA, coming into the country to measure or assess the anti-money laundry exercise in Nigeria. You know Nigeria has been facing this corruption issues and one of the ways of checkmating this is through anti-laundering efforts like this. GIABA officials are coming in October to do an assessment of the country. An
    assessment of the country means, they are going to assess the financial operators of which insurance brokers are one.”

    She further stressed that the training is done in partnership with corporate organisations to ease costs members would have incurred going for such on their own. Many of our members do not have the financial capacities to meet up with many of these regulatory requirements. To attend this training on their own is going to dig a huge hole in their pockets. These people already have their own regular expenses they expend in running their regular day to day operations. They have a lot of subscriptions to be paid to regulators and government, etc.

    “What we do at Lagos Area Committee is to find ways for our members to manage their financials. So, rather pay money from their pockets, we try to find partners who will collaborate with us, and do it for us for free. All we need to do is make ourselves available and take advantage of this because that is the only way we can encourage our members as we believe very strongly that our councils can only be as strong as our members.

    “That is where companies like AXA Mansard come in. You see, they are one of those companies that recognise the importance of insurance brokers in Nigeria and the critical roles we play. Knowing that if they are able to empower and help brokers, it will grow the insurance market. Growing the insurance market means that insurance companies are growing. Not many insurance companies have bought into that, but those that are visionaries know that if you grow the brokers, you are growing the industry and effectively the industries themselves,” she concluded.

  • Brokers hail NAICOM for abolishing annual licence renewal

    The President, Nigeria Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB), Mr Kayode Okunoren, has applauded the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) for considering abolishing annual renewal of brokers’ licence.

    Okunoren made the commendation in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Friday.

    The NCRIB boss said that the council had been calling for the abolition, and expressed the hope that it would give insurance business a boost.

    Okunoren, however, urged the NAICOM to consider life licensing for brokers or a five-year licence renewal.

    “We praise NAICOM for abolishing the annual renewal.

    “Let NAICOM consider five-year or life licensing regime.

    NAN reports that NAICOM had at the 2017 National Insurance Conference in Abuja recently, said that it resolved to extend the brokers’ licence renewal period.

    Mr Sunday Thomas, the NAICOM Deputy Commissioner for Insurance (Technical), who made this known, said that the process of annual renewal of the licence had become cumbersome.

    Thomas had said: “NAICOM is ready to make changes where necessary. Life licensing for brokers may not be possible for now, but there are challenges in the annual licence renewal.

    “We can consider a licensing system that has a longer life span.” (NAN)