set to engage Rivers, Bayelsa for insurance business
…as Ayogu, new chapter chairman to sensitize insuring public
The Port Harcourt Area Committee (comprising Rivers and Bayelsa states) of the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB), which recently held an investiture of its new executive committee, led by Sunny Ayogu, is set to engage the governments of Rivers and Bayelsa for insurance business.
This is to shore up the business taking of the area chapter, as the sector, like other sectors in the country, is much ravaged by the current economic recession.
It has been observed that states outside Lagos, are to buy into insurances. Contracts are awarded sans insurance covers; projects get executed with no knowledge of insurance, a key reason insurance experts said, is the cause of projects abandonment.
The investiture, which took place on 28 February in Oroazi, Port Harcourt, was witnessed by the NCRIB national president and chairman governing board, Emmanuel Okunoren, who provided direction and support to the Port Harcourt area committee.
But this time NCRIB is directly involved in government engagement, which looks to provide a strategy to keep the NCRIB Port Harcourt area chapter in a good business stead; especially given that governments in the South-South zone have been observed to be poor buyers of insurance.
Ayogu, an associate member, Chartered Institute of Insurance Brokers (ACIIB), who has put in 20 years as an insurance professional and 10 years as an insurance broker, also assured that his committee would embark on educating the insuring public on the roles of Insurance Brokers through radio programmes, road walks, interfacing with other professionals and government agencies.
“We are certain that by so doing, the public would begin to appreciate us as professionals whose advice should be sought before buying insurance,” he said.
The newly sworn-in Port Harcourt area executive chairman informed that his committee would also be collaborating with the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN) to organize periodic trainings for NCRIB members, in other to increase their skills for effective and productive selling of services.
Also, the committee intends to appeal to the Rivers State government to review downwards its current levies and taxes charged on Insurance Brokers operating in the state, in view of the fact that they only earn commissions.
Ayogu said: “It is surprising that agencies of government lump Brokers with Underwriters together, and call them Insurance Companies and Financial Institutions. This has brought a lot of hardships on our members, who have been taxed beyond their total annual commission income, leading to closure if so many branch offices.”
Meanwhile, the area committee executive shall also reinforce the area chapter’s group life policy, which since its inception had only had two claims made and paid. While many members were yet to be covered by the policy, despite huge benefits derivable from the cover.
Ayogu informed that their executive committee of NCRIB would encourage insurance brokers in the chapter to enrol into the group life policy by paying up their annual levies, as the executive would no longer engage in asking for donations from members, in the case of death of a member not covered by the life policy.
He equally warned against practices of “inappropriate pricing of risks by NCRIB members and unnecessary competition,” which he described as “twin evils we as practitioners, whether as an Underwriter or a Broker, have brought upon ourselves.” He lamented that the evils have now become so strong that indirectly, they are threatening the jobs of Insurance Brokers, which only go to cheapen them before their clients.
He said the executive shall set up a committee to handle petitions from members, whether an underwriter or a broker; and would liaise with the national president of NCRIB.