Insurers seek soft-landing for loss adjusters for efficiency

Determined to ensure professionalism in the contract of insurance, as well as align with regulatory campaign for self discipline, insurers under the umbrella body of the Nigerian Insurers’ Association (NIA) has extended its hand of fellowship to make loss adjusters effective in their service.

The decision, recently taken by member companies of the trade body will ensure that loss adjusters get their professional fees at least 90 days after submission of a loss report.

By this the loss adjusters can rise up to their professional responsibility as independence, deliver report on time, work with better technology, employ quality staff and professionals and have a better sense of belonging as members of the insurance industry.

Sunday Thomas, director general of the Nigerian Insurers’ Association who announced the decision of the NIA to make loss adjuster better in their job, said it is in line with international best practice.

“This decision is necessary to ensure they do their work professionally and without compromise. It is also part of efforts to encourage compliance and adopt international best practice, Thomas stated.

Darlington Mbgojikwe, managing director, Crawford Chartered Loss Adjusters Limited had told BusinessDay during an exclusive interview that the loss adjusting profession in Nigeria was endangered because it could no long attract professionals because of the decaying prospect of the industry.

He noted that most loss adjusting firms were run by old people because they could not afford to higher younger people and pay them as a result of paucity of funds resulting from debt owed them by the insurance companies.

“In fact, we have a lot of aging adjusters and because the money we are making has not enabled us employ graduates that will take over from us, the profession is endangered.”

According to him, some of the loss adjusting firms was owed debts for reports it had done years past, stating that such development was dangerous for the profession.

Mbgojikwe noted further that debts owed to loss adjusters were running into millions, but however noted that talks were on between the insurance companies under the umbrella body of NIA and umbrella body of loss adjusters, Institute of Loss Adjusters of Nigeria (ILAN) to resolve the matter.

“A lot of our money is being owed. Some underwriters will pay claim and forget that somebody did the adjustment. Outside this shores, adjusters are paid hourly. What we use presently, that is scaling is obsolete.”

“A loss adjuster is basically an insurance person who is trained to be able to handle insurance claims. By this I mean that you cannot be a loss adjuster without having a solid insurance background, that is, you cannot also be a high court judge without first of all being trained as a lawyer. Basically, a loss adjuster is an insurance person that has taking addition training in the handling of insurance claims. Handling insurance claims means being able to go the scene of the loss, investigate and with the claim submitted by the claimant relate what he claims as the loss to the actual loss.”