Enhanced wages to attract professional actuaries to insurance sector, say analysts
Enhanced reward system and attractive wages are what insurance companies need to attract sufficient number of professional actuaries into nation’s insurance industry. There are only 12 professional actuaries in the local market providing services to nearly 60 insurance companies, BusinessDay investigations have revealed.
Actuaries are professional who deals with the financial impact of risk and uncertainty, and mathematically evaluate the probability of events and quantify the contingent outcomes in order to minimise the impacts of financial losses.
They are central to the efficient risk management of insurance business and so help firms to scientifically evaluate the liabilities owed to policyholders.
Enhanced wage analysts say represents a long term measure to end scarcity of actuaries currently bedevilling the sector, than relying for so long on intervention funding for training currently going on in the market.
“The long term solution will be to restructure our reward and emoluments packages such that it will drive best brain into the industry. By this, you do not need special intervention. Good remuneration package will effortlessly drive professionals into the industry, says Mayowa Adeduro, managing director/CEO, Anchor Insurance plc.
Adeduro stated that “It is a fact that we are facing the challenge of inadequate professional Actuaries in the Nigerian insurance industry.
“A major factor for this is that professional training of actuaries has not been localised in the country, so you need substantial amount of foreign exchange to train an actuary.”
According to him, the industry is already adopting a collaborative approach to solving the problem, “and I think it is the best way to go in the short run,” Adeduro observed.
For instance NAICOM is supporting some institutions of higher learning in Nigeria offering insurance with specific target to produce actuarial graduates and post graduates.
Fola Daniel, commissioner for Insurance said the NAICOM in 2014 gave financial assistance to 6 Nigerian Universities offering insurance and actuarial science to develop capacities for the insurance industry.
For instance in Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) we are financing two PHD students in special areas, and we are continuing on this in the current year so that at the end we would have built capacity for the sector.”
The Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA), the business association of the industry is learnt was sponsoring a handful of fresh graduates of Actuarial science to pursue master’s degree and professional training in UK just as some companies had also embarked on similar ventures.
Rotimi Okpaise, managing director/CEO, HR Nigeria said the core training of Actuaries is to assess risk, and so help in efficient risk management of insurance business, as premium rates charged by policyholders are scientifically calculated by actuaries.
“Actuaries can also assist insurers properly implement risk management practices thereby protecting policyholders, shareholders, regulators and the general public from rude sudden shocks of financial failure.”
The HR Nigeria boos observed that with actuaries actively involved in insurers risk management, through analysing and advising on market risk, pricing risk, credit risks, liability values, capital needs, adequate product development, profit and capital growth will sustainably emerge.
At the moment there are about 12 fully qualified actuaries operating in Nigeria and according to Okpaise “it’s difficult to be categorical to say how many are needed but I look forward to when Nigeria can boast of 50 qualified actuaries.”
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