Nigeria: Insurance professionals have advised stakeholders in the industry to promote sustainable insurance in the country. They made this call during the maiden edition of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria’s (CIIN)’s Insurance Industry parley recently held in Lagos, emphasizing the importance of providing the necessary tools and approaches to managing global sustainable relatable risks, which are environmental, social and governance (ESG).
The theme of the event was “Sustainable Insurance – Issues and Trends”. It had in attendance, various stakeholders within the insurance industry – regulators, insurers, brokers and loss adjusters – who gathered to chart issues and trends on sustainable insurance.
As a regulator, the Head of Information Technology Department, the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Abiodun Aribike, stated that NAICOM uses information technology to drive sustainable insurance in Nigeria.
Aribike highlighted that the Commission, in collaboration with the Financial Sector Deepening (FSD) Africa, recently launched Risk, Resilience and Regulatory Laboratory (R3Lab) in Lagos, in order to support the growth of the insurance industry. He emphasized that the initiative was aimed at mitigating the effect of specific challenges plaguing the insurance regulatory environment in Nigeria, as well as discovering a way forward.
“The R3Lab offers a three-tiered approach towards building the technical capacity and skills of the regulator on innovation and sustainable insurance,” he said.
Moreover, the Head, Retail Solutions, AXA Mansard Insurance, Rashidat Adebisi, stressed the need for operators to start working on sustainability for the future by shifting their focus from oil investments to gas, as the latter is more sustainable.
“The world is currently shifting away from oil. We need to start investing in gas, which is more sustainable and greener. We need to act on sustainable goals as this helps to save the environment. I urge everyone here to start and lead the sustainable goal conversations in their various companies, because sustainability is key,” she expressed.
Speaking as a broker, a representative from the Hogg Robinson Nigeria Limited, Saheed Egbeyemi, mentioned that opportunities abound for the sector to tap into and flourish, but that the issues of rate cutting and unhealthy competition had to be addressed. He also added that underwriters and brokers need to work collaboratively to propagate the tenets of sustainable insurance.
The former President of the Institute of Loss Adjusters of Nigeria (ILAN), Ralph Opara, announced that ILAN was doing a lot to enhance sustainability, because the institute remains the life wire of the insurance value chain.
The world is currently shifting away from oil. We need to start investing in gas, which is more sustainable and greener.
On her part, the Rector, College of Insurance and Financial Management (CIFM), Dr. Yeside Oyetayo, said ESG risks have now become prerequisites for defining a sustainable company; therefore trainings and programmes on sustainable risks need to be considered within the insurance industry-academic curriculum.
In rounding off the event’s panel session, the Managing Director and the Chairman of the occasion, Olusegun Omosehin, emphasized that collaborations and innovation are the means with which the industry could achieve sustainability.
“Opportunities are before us as underwriters, so we need to transition into green insurance so we can sustain businesses and the future of insurance in Nigeria,” he said.
The President of CIIN, Dr. Muftau Oyegunle, reiterated: “The objective of this programme among other things, is to bring all stakeholders from the different arms of the insurance industry together, to discuss the business environment and how it affects the operations of the sector, as well as charting the way forward for insurance to thrive in the country.”
