TheNewsGuru

Tag: Insurance

  • Nollywood unions acquire insurance deal for members

    Nollywood unions acquire insurance deal for members

    Nollywood unions have signed a life insurance, healthcare and pension deal with an insurance firm. The motive behind the acquisition of the Insurance deal for members is to enable them to lead a better life, especially when they have health challenges that make them appeal for donations from the public.

     

    The 13 unions – Association of Motion Picture Entertainment Editors of Nigeria (AMPEEN); Creative Designers’ Guild of Nigeria (CDGN); Cinematographers’ Society of Nigeria (CSN); Directors Guild of Nigeria (DGN); Film & Video Producers’ and Marketers’ Association of Nigeria (FVPMAN); Independent Television Producers Association (ITPAN); Motion Picture Practitioners Association of Nigeria (MOPPAN); National Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP); Screenwriters’ Guild of Nigeria (SWGN); Theatre Arts and Motion Pictures Producers Association of Nigeria (TAMPAN) and United Movie Practitioners’ Association of Nigeria (UMPAN) – cover most of the enumerated Nollywood practitioners and this is the first time the industry is making such a grand move.

     

     

  • Royal Exchange Insurance settles N2.71bn claims in 2016

    Royal Exchange General Insurance Company, (REGIC) has declared that it paid out a total of N2.71 billion as claims settlements to its corporate and individual clients at the end of the 2016 financial year.

    Making this disclosure in Lagos, the Managing Director of REGIC, Mr. Benjamin Agili said that his company’s focus is the prompt settlement of genuine insurance claims and this will continue to be the business philosophy of the company in years ahead, adding that the company will continue to support the business community as it strives to increase the manufacturing capacities of industries in the country.

    According to Mr. Agili, “Royal Exchange has once again demonstrated its strength and ability to honour its financial obligations and also protect the interest of its various corporate and individual clients, as there is a conscious effort to have a genuine partnership with the clients based on trust and integrity, core values which was instilled by the founders of the company and have continued to drive the operations and strategic directions of the company”.

    Speaking further, he said, “For us in Royal Exchange, customer satisfaction is everything. We have an enduring capacity to shoulder our customer’s risk, should they arise and this is further evidence of our financial depth derived from prudent and conservative accounting system, a highly motivated workforce as well as a professionally structured organisation”.

    According to the Managing Director, “At Royal Exchange, our core values of relationship, trust, and integrity compel us to always seek ways of optimising our processes to ensure that the customer receives immediate benefit for doing business with us”.

    Giving a breakdown of the various amounts paid in the different insurance classes, Mr. Agili said a total of N1.045 billion was paid on Fire and Industrial All Risk (IAR) insurance policies, representing 38.5% of the total amount paid to clients at the end of the year. For Motor and Accident insurance policies, N953.76 million was paid to policy holders, accounting for 35% of the total sum paid, while Marine Insurance claims was 15.3% of the total claims paid, which amounted to N415.87 million.

    Other classes of insurance with claims payments include Special Risk Insurance policies with N277.11 million paid out as claims, representing 10.1% of toal claims. Claims paid on Engineering Insurnace Policies was N20.08 million and Bond Insurance amounted to N5.27million.

    It would be recalled that the company paid close to N4billion to Nigerian Bottling Company for the fire in its Benin plant in 2010 and was the lead insurer in a consortium that paid out over N3.63billion to Friesland Foods West African Milk Company (WAMCO) over the major flood disaster that occurred in its Lagos factory in 2011”.

  • Only three million Nigerians subscribe to insurance policies – Adeosun

    Only three million Nigerians subscribe to insurance policies – Adeosun

    The Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, on Monday, said only three million out of 180 million Nigerians are currently subscribed to various insurance policies to protect themselves from uncertainties.

    Adeosun, who made the disclosure at the ongoing 2017 National Insurance Conference in Abuja, noted that insurance was playing critical roles in the economy.

    The theme of the three-day conference is: “Nigeria Open for Business.’’

    Represented by Alhaji Mammud Dutse, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Adeosun said that insurance was facilitating investments by reducing the amount of capital and savings needed by individuals, corporations and agencies to fight unforeseen losses.

    She said that total insurance premiums grew from N75bn in 2005 to over N300bn in 2016 and contributed approximately 0.7 per cent to the Gross Domestic Product.

    She said that the figure was less than the African average of 3.3 per cent and the global average of seven per cent.

    The 2017 event would be the third since the conception of the Insurance Industry Consultative Council in 2015.

    IICC is an amalgamation of all the constituent arms of the insurance industry, which includes the Nigerian Insurers Association, Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers and Institute of Loss Adjusters of Nigeria.

    The minister lamented that the insurance industry was facing the challenge of low-level penetration.

    “This means insurance from writing more premiums from millions of Nigerians can provide finance for our long-term economic growth for the country’s recovery.’’

    She said that practitioners must be willing to do more to make insurance a giant industry to look up to, adding that distribution channels must be innovative and that new products should be developed to attract the populace.

    She argued that to achieve conclusive growth, insurance must be deployed to rural areas.

    “Deepening insurance penetration to the rural areas must include, improving technical capacity to meet the emerging market trends.

    “The best way to promote insurance is to incorporate both individuals and corporate entities into the insurance market,’’ Adeosun said.

    The minister said that the Federal Government would ensure that its economic reforms supported the growth of the insurance industry, adding that many foreign investors had indicated interest to invest in the sector.

    “There is also a high level of ownership of insurable assets in Nigeria, despite the economic situation.

    “We expect that industry reforms will continue to drive investments and new market entries.

    “Foreign investors have shown great interest in the Nigerian insurance sector by entering into the market and progress can be seen in the introduction of new insurance products in the growing mortgage and housing sector.

    “To concentrate on the progress being made so far, Federal Government will always play its part to ensure that government assets are properly insured,’’ she said.

    Also speaking, the Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr Okechukwu Enelamah, said the best way to move the industry forward was for the practitioners to accept responsibilities.

    “The practitioners need to work hard to ensure that many Nigerians are dragged into insurance net.

    “The practitioners cannot compare themselves to entertainers,’’ Enelamah said.

    Earlier, Alhaji Mohammed Kari, the Commissioner for Insurance, National Insurance Commission, commended the Federal Government for its support for the industry.

    Kari described insurance as promoter and stabiliser of economic and commercial activities.

    He said the commission had commenced the review of processes which included timelines and deadlines.

    Kari said that the growth of the industry was hindered by unripe products, religious beliefs and wrong perception.

    Over 400 participants are taking part in the NIC conference.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the three day event will end on Wednesday, July 12.

     

     

    NAN

     

  • CPC set to curb abuse of rights of insurance consumers

    CPC set to curb abuse of rights of insurance consumers

    The Consumer Protection Council (CPC) on Saturday said efforts were being put in place to curb the abuse of the rights of insurance consumers in the country.

    The Director General of CPC, Mrs Dupe Atoki said this at the ongoing Annual National Insurance Consumers’ Colloquium held in conjunction with Pastures Consult Ltd. and Dividend in Lagos.

    The theme of colloquium is “100 Years After: Is Insurance Working in Nigeria?’’

    She said that the council would not expose such efforts at the colloquium, adding that the council had gathered that consumers were faced with numerous challenges.

    According to her, the challenges include sale of fake insurance policies, incessant delays in payment of claims among others.

    Atoki, who was represented by her deputy, Mr Joshua Yakubu said that the council would develop synergy with insurance consumers and regulators for a common ground in dealing with already identified challenges.

    She, however, enjoined every Nigerian to get involved in insurance policies not for personal reasons alone but for national prosperity.

    Mr Jude Modilim, the Group Head, Energy and Special Risk of International Energy Insurance Plc, who spoke on the economic importance of insurance to national development, said that the industry needed to combat low awareness of insurance in the country.

    Modilim urged practitioners to embrace consumerism, which meant that consumers’ interest should always be promoted.

    “Once the citizens are conscious of insurance, national growth and development will be rapid.

    “This is because insurance goes beyond providing security, insurance generates financial resources for investment in bonds. It is also an important source of capital formation,’’ he said.

    Mr Toke Falana, who delivered a lecture on “Enforcement of Insurance and Insurance Related Laws “ said that the country needed to do more by investing in education, health and other social insurance.

    Section 14 (2b) of the Constitution provides that the welfare and security of the people shall be the primary purpose of the government

    “Nigeria with all abundant resources has not been able to insure the life of her people by investing in education, health and other social services,“ he said.

    He said that the insurance laws applicable in the country were deficient in many areas because the rights guaranteed by those laws are usually breached with impunity.

    “Importantly, I would conclude by calling on insurers to ensure that claims are paid promptly by insurance companies.

    “The government also needs to execute some provisions in insurance laws and embark on enlightening programmes for citizens to appreciate the benefits of insurance,“ he said.

    One of the participants, Gabriel Offor, commended the organisers for putting the colloquium together.

    According to Offor, all stakeholders in the industry have a role to play as everything must be transparent.

    The Annual National Insurance Consumers’ Colloquium is a platform for an in-depth discussion and a means of taking practical steps in dealing with and managing the various challenges concerning insurance consumers.