MATTHEW OTOIJAGHA
The Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) is set to sanction some brokers for unwholesome practices; it was reliably stated during an insurance forum held at Ijebu-Ode.
Its Executive Secretary, Fatai Adegbenro, while making a speech, said the unwholesome acts committed by the brokers have been investigated and that they will be sanctioned accordingly. He said the present leadership of the NCRIB abhors unethical behavior, and will not hesitate to sanction those who flout the law.
He noted that once an allegation is raised about a broker, such a broker is summoned by the body to explain all he or she knows about the allegation. He called on the public to help the body by reporting practitioners who try to paint the industry in bad light.
While the NCRIB is making frantic efforts to clear the broking fraternity of bad eggs, the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has accused some brokers of conniving with consumers to undermine local underwriters by allotting proportion of risk to them without due cognizance of their capacity; preferring to place risk abroad even when the local market is not saturated.
“However, the Commission in recent time has noticed certain behaviors and actions of consumers that are not in psych with this belief which are detrimental and dangerous to the insurance industry in Nigeria.
“We have seen situations where the insured (Consumer) in connivance with insurance Brokers allot proportion of risk to local underwriters without due cognizance of the insurers’ capacity; preferring to place risk abroad even when the local market is not saturated. Some consumers also in alliance with intermediaries chose to exclude some underwriters from participation in underwriting certain risks without cogent tenable justification.
“The Commission frowns at these practices and want to use this medium to inform such consumers to desist from the practices as they run counter to our regulations. Where we have noticed such practices, we have rejected applications from operators for approval to cede such risks abroad,” he said.
Kari noted that this action of the consumer/broker sometime leads to delays in placement of the risk, even when the insured has paid its premium to the intermediary, stressing that While the Commission is not averse to ceding of risk offshore, it must be done only when the local market has taken the much its capacity would allow.