THE ROLE OF NATIONAL INSURANCE COMMISSION TOWARDS INSURANCE PENETRATION TO THE GRASSROOT

CHAPTER ONE

1.0   INTRODUCTION

        National Insurance Commission is a body that ensure is effective administration, supervision, regulation and control of insurance industries in Nigeria.  

The national insurance Commission (NAICON) under the able watch of Mr. Fola Daniel is on top of the situation. The industry is poised to take advantage of serial despoliation and corruption enthroned every where in our economic landscape that poll into insignificance value that enables the society. The insurance consumer Association of Nigeria (INSCAN) and NGO ably led by rear Admiral Isaac Areola is protecting the insurance consumer in Nigeria against unfair practice from insurers.

Insurers should therefore enhance after. Sale service, such as prompt payment / settlement of claims as well as effective intermediation model. And also develop environmentally friendly products, based on market research and ensure an efficacious marketing that will speak to the customers in the grass root.

        The bottom line for effective insurance coverage is a prompt payment of claims. Insurance operator should ensure that they take settlement of claim seriously for that will guarantee adequate penetration of insurance to grass root. The commissioner for insurance Fola Daniel sates that the easiest way to attract the public to patronize insurance is treating those who are already insured through prompt payment of claims. “If one tells his friend that his insurance company did not pay claim after his loss, that single complaint is capable of stopping more than 20 peoples from buying insurance in future” in his statement, he said that prompt payment of claim remain the best instrument. For insurance awareness and penetration expatiating on its utmost importance, that commissioner state that NACCOM will continue to ensure that operators live up to their claim responsibility adding that the commission had received 86 claims complaint out of which 52 valued at 1.2 billion have been resolved and 34 in court. He read the ‘riot act’ that the axe will be yielded on operators who consistently fail to settle discharged claim promptly by losing their license. Insurers had been mandated to administer claim. In accordance for that will enable those at grassroot to embrace insurance and in order to standardize insurance practice.

        Moreover, the weak legal framework for the regulation and supervision of insurance industry in Nigeria has been attributed to the poor public perception of the sector; low level of awareness amongst the populace; high political economic and financial systemic risk; non remittance of accumulated premium and investment losses resulting from decline in insurance penetrations.

        Furthermore, a lot of companies are being built in the urban area forgetting that many Nigerian are living in the rural area without having the knowledge of what insurance is all about and are eager to boy the policy if well explained.

According to Mr. Fola Daniel, he said that derive to penetrate insurance into the grassroot will see the insurance market growing in an accelerated rate of hitting 8:64% in the net four years. According to the commissioner of insurance, premium income will increase from N300 billion in 2012 to N1 trillion in 2017, motor insurance will increase by ten percent (10%), life insurance by three percent (3%)  and oil and gas by two and half percent 2 ½  % .

        The industry’s contribution to the Gross Domestic product will be three percent (3%) and the insurable population will increase to twenty-two percent (22%). The Nigeria insurance penetration is expected to rise above six percent (6%) when compared to Kenyan 3.2% and South African 15%.

1.1   BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

        The Nigerian Insurance Industry has come of age, the genesis of the industry in 1921 had gone through transformation. It morph and from the insurance companies Act 1961, the insurance (miscellaneous provision) Act 1964, the companies decree 1968, the insurance decree 59 of 1976, the insurance Decree 58 of 1991, insurance decree 2 of 1997 to the present insurance Act 2003. There is still room for amendment following strident calls for more consolidations was upgraded to National Insurance Supervision. Board headed by Chief Oladipo Bailey who become the first commissioner of insurance when the National Insurance Commission was set up by Decree N0 1 of 1997, He was later replaced by Barr. Emmanuel Chukwulozie and the incumbent Fola Daniel.

1.2   OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The following are the objectives of the study,

1.          To examine the role of the National Insurance Commission towards Insurance penetration to the grass root.

2.          To lay an emphasis on the strategies and way through which National Insurance Commission is using towards penetrating insurance to the grass root.

3.          to know how insurance growth can contribute to GDP of the country.

1.3   STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

        Most of the problems confronting the commission from carrying out efficient administration on insurance industries in Nigeria are inexperienced management team, inadequate fund for carrying out the roles of the commission etc.

1.4   RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1.     Has National Insurance Commission contributed to the growth of insurance industries in Nigeria?

2.     Does the level of the commission influence the performance of the industries?

3.     What is the role played by the commissioner in Nigeria?

4      What are the efforts of the commission to penetrate insurance to grass root.

5      What are the achievements of the commission so far in the country?

1.5   RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

HO:  That NACCOM contributes immensely to the growth of the industry in Nigeria.

Hi:    That NACCOM does not contribute to the growth of the industry in Nigeria

Ho:   That the function of the commission is fully executed.

Hi:    That the function of the commission is not fully executed.

1.6      SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The significance are as follow

1.     To educate the reader of this project about the role of National Insurance commission and the method and strategies used towards insurance penetration to grass root.

2.     To alert the commission on several ways of maintaining a strong administration.

1.7   SCOPE OF THE STUDY

        This study will cover only the National insurance Commission zonal office Enugu, Nigeria and emphases on the roles they play towards insurance penetration. The analysis and conclusion will base on the data supplied by the commission.

1.8   LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

There are numbers of factors which militated against the smooth conduct and execution of this research work they are as follows:

-       Difficulties in obtaining relevant information about the commission.

-       The scarcity of fuel, hence the high cost of transportation limit the researcher’s movement to various places where necessary information for the research work could be obtained.

-       Financial and time constraint. The research work would have not been carried out as one would have wanted some other method of collecting information could not be used for example observation of work and asset could not be effectively carried out.

1.9   DEFINITION OF TERMS

A)     NATIONAL INSURANCE COMMISSION: Is a body that ensuring efficient administration, supervision, regulation and control of insurance business in Nigeria.

B)     CO-OPEARTIVE SOCIETY: This is an insurance association registered under any enactment or law relating to co-operative society. They are not allowed to provide cover to non members. It is guided by a co-operative principle of democracy, equality, religion and political neutrality patronage rate and open membership.

C)     INSURANCE BROKER: They are experts and professionals in the field of insurance and have a higher duty of care to their principal.

Thy are described as agent of the insured.

D)     INSURANCE AGENT: They connect the insurer and the insured in the insurance market. They are not professionals or experts. They are described as he agent of the insurer, they bring business to the insurer and advice the insurer on market situations.