PROTOCOLS
I warmly welcome the Governing Council Members, Members of the Chartered
Insurance Institute of Nigeria, other distinguished guests and participants to the Historic City of Ibadan and to our Pacesetter State. I also extend to you the goodwill and appreciation of the government and the good people of Oyo State for the privilege of hosting the 2018 edition of the Annual Education Seminar of your Institute.
The decision of the Institute to organize what can be termed continuous education or refresher courses for its members is a highly commendable initiative given the increasingly critical role the Insurance Practice plays in a world that has become highly unpredictable. It is therefore comforting that the Institute has taken the task o~ regularly updating the skills and knowledge of insurance practitioners very seriously.
It is a generally acknowledged fact that to successfully chart a path to the future, one must never lose sight of where one started from. It is therefore necessary to take a
brief excursion into the origin and evolution of the Insurance Industry in Nigeria.
Crediting History, in 1918, Africa and East Trade Companies inaugurated the Royal Exchange Assurance Agency. This was the first insurance company in the history of insurance in Nigeria. Other agencies that existed at the time included: BEWAC’s Legal and General Assurance, Patterson Zochonis (PZ) Liverpool, and Law Union and Rock
The first insurance company indigenous to Nigeria was the African Insurance Company Limited. At the time of Independence in 1960 there were twenty-five insurance companies in Nigeria. Only four of these were owned by Nigerians.
In 1961 the J.E. Obande Commission report, which was a milestone in the history of insurance- ii’ Nigeria, was released. This led to the formation of the Nigerian Department of Insurance as part of the Federal Ministry of Trade. This department was later transferred to the Ministry of Finance. Gradually indigenous insurance companies outnumbered the foreign insurance companies. Today, there are no fewer than 48 indigenous insurance companies in Nigeria.
In 1997, the National Insurance Commission was established. It was given the duty of overseeing and organizing insurance in Nigeria. This body is functioning as the main insurance regulator in Nigeria. The insurance industry in Nigeria has been steadily growing ever since. By virtue of its roles, such as the provision of financial protection
for property, life, health and paying claims in case of death, loss, or damage, it is evidently clear that the importance of the Insurance Industry to the socio-economic growth and stability of any nation cannot be under-estimated.
Similarly, it is instructive to note that insurance is advantageous. It facilitates economic growth by investing premium funds, protecting individuals, industry and commerce, communities and nations from economic impact of losses, thus, removing the anxiety of losses.
In developed countries, many people and many companies use insurance services. For this reason, insurance is considered a major part of the service sector. Insurance also forms a vital part of the economy. In these countries, people trust insurance and therefore insure all assets in insurance companies. But in developing countries, insurance has not developed yet to its full potentials. This is largely due to problems such as misinformation about the industry and management deficiencies in insurance companies. But chief among these reasons is distrust of people for insurance.
It is therefore imperative for the industry and the practitioners to take practical steps towards addressing these issues. There is the compelling need for the Institute to deal with the negative perception people have about insurance, some of which are being fueled by primordial beliefs. You also need to be deliberate in delivering quality service and superior value to your customers. I must add that adapting policies to the ever changing situations of your respective publics will surely advance the profession and its prospects nationwide. Also, high premium is a major disincentive for a lot of potential customers. It is therefore necessary for the Institute to look for ways to introduce minimal premiums in order to make insurance products less elitist and more inclusive; the more the merrier! We must also not overlook the menace of quack and fraudulent practitioners, who have given the industry a bad image.
For us in Oyo State, we appreciate the value of insurance and the need for our people to enjoy a certain degree of protection against the vagaries and vicissitudes of life. Our government also understands the critical role that quality education plays in ensuring sustainable socio-economic development. In these regards, we have continued to make huge investment in the development of the health and education sectors.
In health, our government launched a N50 billion Healthcare Endowment Fund for the “restoration and transformation of government hospitals and health centres in Oyo State”, on August 3, 2017. The measure adopted by the state government involved fostering strong partnerships with the private sector, development partners and other stakeholders in the health sector to pool resources, knowledge and skills that would ultimately help in achieving the desired goal of improved access to affordable and high quality healthcare service delivery across the state.
At the same time, we established a Health Insurance Scheme, first in the Country, which is an innovative strategy designed to ensure unfettered access to healthcare services by residents of the state, most especially the vulnerable class. This scheme, which has recorded a huge success within a very short time, almost 60,000 subscribers already signed-on, is a system where contributors’ funds are pooled to deal with the financial burden of healthcare in times of need. In essence, each member is appropriately served, not on the basis of his contribution, but according to his needs, invariably guaranteeing access to quality medical care for everyone, regardless of social or financial status.
In addition to these, we have also decided to set up a Global Micro Insurance Agency.
It will be private sector-driven and will further demonstrate our commitment to the insurance concept and its attendant values.
What you should not fail to notice is how well we have adopted the basic insurance’ principles in the formulation of these policies. This clearly speaks to the potentials that a well-developed and a well-harnessed insurance industry portend for any society. The benefits are indeed innumerable.
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I like to end this address by acknowledging our government’s resolve to continue to demonstrate its well-acknowledged commitment’ to sustaining and improving our peace, safety, security policy programmes and architecture, as well as our infrastructural rejuvenation, modernization and· advancement which have made Oyo State one of the most popular investment destinations in sub-Sahara Africa.
Our goal is to create an increasingly conducive environment for businesses to grow and thrive for the benefit and satisfaction of our people. The contribution of your profession and indeed the insurance sector is most’ welcome.
Thank you for your attention and gladly to the glory of the Almighty I have the honour and privilege to declare your annual education seminar open.
Senator Abiola Ajimobi
Governor, Oyo State.
