Skills gap, terrorism, others threaten insurance

The skills gap in highly technical areas of insurance operations such as marine and aviation, oil and gas and the increasing environment of uncertainty and crimes including Boko Haram, kidnapping, among others, are threatening the survival of the nations insurance industry.The Director-General of the Nigeria Insurers Association (NIA), Olorundare Thomas, made this known at a media retreat by NIA, CIIN, NCRIB and ILAN in Abeokuta, Ogun State.Other areas of concerns identified by the operators include poor industry database, poor standard of living of Nigerians and their low disposable income; poor attitude to savings and risk management unlike what we have in other developed jurisdictions; faking of insurance certificates, industry practices that are not consistent with sustainability, cut-throat competition among the operators, poor attitude to training and human capital development and the less than optimal financial literacy.Besides, Thomas said emerging issues in the industry include problems of capital flight in the areas of the Local Content, Market Development and Restructuring Initiative (MDRI), No Premium No Cover and the increasing issues of compliance, both legislative and financial, giving the instance of the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) and emerging regulations.He added that there was also the issue of financial inclusion strategy; attempts at countering fake operators, market agreement issues; offshore offices; insurance penny stocks and investor issues.He added: The Insurance Industry has continued to be bedeviled by several challenges relating to image and public perception. Among these challenges is poor public perception occasioned by several factors including what many term the conservative nature of insurance and its operators.]]>
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