Ganiyu Musa
Chairman
Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA)
Operators in the Nigerian insurance industry expect claims arising from the 2020 EndSARS protest to be as high as N20 billion when all outstanding claims on the riots are settled. The industry has already paid out N11 billion as claims on the protest so far.
Mr. Ganiyu Musa, Chairman, Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) said in Lagos yesterday that the Association will continue to emphasise the need for insurance companies to pay all genuine insurance claims promptly and will not hesitate to sanction erring member companies.
“I am indeed happy to report that insurance companies have paid over N11billion claims to insureds that suffered losses from the Endsars riots in 2020. We expect to pay about N20 billion on such claims at the conclusion of the process.”
Musa also said the industry generated as much as N508 billion as Gross Premium Written (GPW) in the 2020 financial year while claims paid by member companies amounted to about N220 billion, which is 44 percent of the total industry premium.
On the insurance of motor vehicles, the NIA Chairman put the number of licensed vehicles on the road in Nigeria as at today at 3.4 million.
He gave an update on some key issues in the industry as follows:
- CONSOLIDATED INSURANCE BILL 2020 & FINANCE ACT 2021
The Consolidated Insurance Bill 2020 is still receiving legislative attention in the National Assembly and the Association is on top of developments on it. We are optimistic that the Bill will be passed into law before long.
We are happy to note that the Finance Act 2021 has been signed into law and this has resolved a major issue with regards to the definition of the components of minimum capital. The Association is engaging the National Insurance Commission with a view to determining the next steps.
- NAICOM PORTAL
We are happy to note that our members have increased upload on NAICOM Portal. We have encouraged those who have challenges to escalate them so that a solution can be provided.
- MARKET DEVELOPMENT
The Association will continue to complement the efforts of NAICOM in their campaign on domestication of compulsory insurances in the States It is our expectation that laws on compulsory insurance can be domesticated in other States just as Lagos State has done.
Beyond the efforts of the Commission, the Association has also upscaled its market development initiatives through strategic engagements with the various states.
