Government charged on enforcement of compulsory insurances

Government has been called upon to ensure full enforcement of all compulsory insurance policies across the country.

The Chairman of the newly constituted Management Board of Guinea Insurance Plc, Godson Ugochukwu, who made the call in an interview with The Guardian in Lagos, said enforcement of all the compulsory insurances will not only drive the growth of the sector, but will contribute significantly to the economic growth of the country.

Ugochukwu, who expressed dismay over government’s lack of political will to enforce certain laws and policies, which he said has been detrimental to the growth of the nation’s economy, called on government to provide necessary regulatory mechanism and conducive business environment to drive the growth of the industry.

Ugochukwu, who described insurance business as extremely good business, with lots of potentials and opportunities, also called on Nigerian to invest in insurance, especially now that there is recession.

He said investing in insurance sector will not only guarantee returns to investment for the investors but will also enhance their financial independence.

“Insurance business is extremely good business, fantastic business which needs government’s help to grow. Government must provides necessary regulatory mechanism to ensure that Nigerians comply fully with the compulsory insurances,” he said.

Meanwhile, Naicom, has started reaching out to state governments to domesticate these laws to enable easier enforcement within their jurisdictions. When this is successfully accomplished, it is our optimism that it will drive penetration and contribution of insurance to the Gross Domestic Products (GDP) of the country.

“The importance of compulsory insurance is evident in all spheres of life as it guarantees a form of protection and compensation to victims provided that they are insured, hence they do not have to bear huge financial burden. It also serves as a form of social assistance for the vulnerable people in the society.

“To the economy, the government would not have to bear the burden alone during catastrophic events such as natural disaster, fire accident thereby saving government money which can be channelled to augmenting the needs of the citizenry, providing infrastructure and creating employment among others.”

There are six compulsory insurances in the country. They are Group Life Insurance in line with the PenCom Act 2004, Employers Liability in line with the Workmen’s Compensation Act 1987; Buildings under construction-section 64 of the Insurance Act 2003; Occupiers liability insurance under section 65 of the Insurance Act 2003; Motor Third party Insurance under section 68 of the Insurance Act 2003 and Health Care Professional Indemnity insurance under section 45 of the NHIS Act 1999.

NAICOM’s Head, Corporate Affairs, Rasaaq Salami in a statement explained that the Commission successfully resolved 218 complaints resulting in the settlement of claims worth N5.475 billion to aggrieved policyholders last year.

He stated that the commission was working on and at the verge of resolving a total of 650 ongoing cases from 2014 which are all at different stages of conclusion.