Dearth of competent human capital has often been cited as a major challenge to the growth of the insurance industry in Nigeria. In this interview with NIKE POPOOLA, the Director General, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria, Mr. Adegboyega Adepegba, speaks on how exposure can help to develop the insurance sector.Alongthe line of industrys development, what is CIIN doing to enhance professionalism in the sector' CIIN is the body set up by law to determine the standards of knowledge and skills to be attained by persons seeking to become registered members of the insurance profession in Nigeria. The law (Act 22 of 1993) also empowers the institute to review those standards from time to time, as circumstances may permit. The same law, in its Section 5, empowers the Governing Council of this institute to do anything, which in its opinion is calculated to facilitate the carrying on of the activities of the institute. Against this background, the institute has been up and coming in performing this statutory function of enhancing professionalism in the insurance sector in various ways. Some of them include conduct of professional examinations to certify candidates, who have passed through the various stages of the professional examinations and have been adjudged fit and proper to become insurance professionals by awarding to them the diploma of the institute.The institute has continued to conduct various training and re-training programmes for its teeming members through the Mandatory Continuing Professional Development programmes. The MCPD programmes ensure that members attain and achieve a minimum number of MCPD credits every year, which translate to the fact that they have attended or participated in one form of retraining or refresher course in a particular year. The College of insurance is another veritable vehicle of enhancing professionalism in the insurance industry.How exactly has it been going about the performance of this duty'The college is now at a vantage position to conduct and oversee the whole gamut of training for the insurance industry and beyond. The college, in the last three years, had concerned itself with the requisite infrastructure for it to take off. It had also busied itself with conducting studies on the training needs of the industry. Now that the college site is being fully developed, we are poised and ready to change the face of training and manpower development for the insurance industry, and even the financial services sector, and beyond the shores of Nigeria. Lastly, to mention just a few, the enabling law of the institute, vide Section 14 of the law provides for the establishment of the Disciplinary Committee and the Investigating Panel for the Institute. All these are in place, and I wish to say these are very potent organs of the institute. Their existence alone has ensured that our members conduct themselves in the most professional manner in the handling of their affairs. I am at a vantage position to say that our members have conducted themselves professionally.How many insurance professionals are available in the industry' We have about3,000 insurance professionals in Nigeria as at today. This is not the number of our vision and dreams, but again with the efforts of the governing council in putting in place the College of Insurance, this number must double by 2013. The Project 5,000 Graduates, though a concept, is also in place and will also shore up this figure in the next two years.Which countries are you partnering in developing professionalism in the industry'We are partnering other insurance industries, through the exchange programme that we did in South Africa, India. The relationship between CIIN and CII United Kingdom is waxing stronger by the day. By the end of October 2011, we shall be in Malaysia with about 30 members of the institute for the 2011 edition of the programme. In 2012, Canada will be the point of call. A few of the countries that we have gone to are already talking to us about coming to Nigeria for a reciprocal visit. It is in the pipeline that, at least, one of the countries we have visited will come in 2012. The whole idea of these exposures is part of the efforts of the governing council to enhance professionalism in the industry.Why did you take insurance chieftains to Malaysia recently'Malaysia is strategic in our blueprints for the chief executive officers exchange programme. Before we embarked on this whole idea of exchange programme, we had done a study on it, with road maps for the programme. We had concluded that by the end of the fifth edition of the programme, a whole and new body of experiences would have been covered, which also will have covered strategic insurance markets, in strategic parts of the world. A comparative analysis of the markets will then follow, and the CIIN will be the body to author that body of knowledge. Malaysia was, therefore, the next in that strategic calculation.What impact has past exchange programmes had on the sector'Let me reiterate that for the insurance industry it is for the enhancement of professionalism. To me, however, as the institutes director-general, there is more to it than just that; something is evolving. A literature on it will follow someday, sometime: that will be a product of this great institute.What is the role CIIN is playing in the National Insurance Commissions effort to enforce compulsory insurance policies' As the regulatory body, NAICOM has provided the right enabling environment for insurance to thrive, especially through the compulsory insurance policies. The rest is left for the industry, I mean the players, to enhance the golden opportunities this provides. The CIIN has continued to support this laudable effort by sensitising our members to the provisions of the law on compulsory insurance policies. Special training programmes are being provided for some of them that are specialised areas. Education and enlightenment are very important to support the noble efforts of NAICOM in this direction.Will you say insurance companies are doing enough in terms of employee training' Well, training can never be too much. It can, however, be too little. We will continue to encourage insurance organisations to continue to do a little more each year, than the previous years. It is all in the interest of the profession.What is the institute doing to deepen insurance penetration in the country'Deepening of insurance in Nigeria is a multifaceted thing. NAICOM is doing a fantastic thing about this. There is an insurance programme sponsored by NAICOM on the television. NAICOM has continued to encourage insurance organisations to say a bit of what they do to the public, and so many other activities going on. The institute, on its part, has had a useful radio programme that touched the nooks and crannies of the country, and the branches of the institute are encouraged to carry out a lot of awareness creation activities, like public lectures, rallies in motor parks, picnic, fitness, road walk and socials, among others. All these are part of our efforts to create awareness about insurance, with the aim of deepening insurance penetration in Nigeria. However the one that is closest to my heart is that of the conduct of our members. Good character attracts, they say, and bad character repels. To me the greatest efforts we can make to deepen insurance is for us to advertise the profession and the business through our conduct. Wherever you find any member of the insurance profession, you find integrity, utmost good faith, professionalism and with these insurance receives a big boost. I am happy about this, and I hope that the trend will continue.What are your challenges as the director-general of CIIN' Challenges are the necessary catalyst for development and success. The day challenges stop cropping up, then something else sets in. May your road be rough is what late Tai Solarin said; it is good that the road be rough so that you can be at alert and ready to meet with the challenges. The challenges, as they come and how I surmount them, are reserved for my MemoirsWhat advice do you have for all stakeholders' My advice for all stakeholders in the profession is that the future is rosy, but that future depends on how we handle today.
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