In this interview with NIKE POPOOLA, the President, Professional Insurance Ladies Association, Mrs. Funmi Folarin, speaks on what it takes to be successful as a professional lady in the insurance industryWhat is PILA doing to boost insurance sectors growth'We do all things within the competence of professional insurance ladies to enhance the development of the insurance profession, insurance efficiency and awareness, to confer, consult, maintain, contact and co-operate with associations, societies, institutions or bodies of persons established within Nigeria having objects in whole or part similar to those of PILA.The Professional Insurance Ladies Association was founded in 1973.It is the oldest womens professional body in Nigeria. It is a non-political and non-profit making body, which started as lunchtime get together forum of professional insurance ladies in Nigeria. The mission statement is to provide a forum for developing and promoting forthright professional insurance ladies who are dedicated to upholding and projecting the practice and growth of the insurance profession in Nigeria.The objectives are to encourage professional insurance ladies to foster insurance ethics and professionalism and also assist women in insurance business to become professionally qualified. We have the objective to effectively collaborate with the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria and other trade associations in the industry towards the promotion of insurance knowledge among ladies in particular and other persons interested in the practice of insurance. We also work for equal opportunities for ladies in the insurance industry. We are a socially responsible organisation. We donate periodically books, food, clothes to children in less privilege homes PILA also uses the social media network to communicate with its members and others.What is the way forward for the Nigerian insurance industry'The way forward for the Nigerian insurance industry is to do business with best practice in the highest ethical way possible.Do ladies have the same opportunity with their male counterparts in the industry'Professional ladies have the same opportunity as their male counterparts. They are exposed to the same type of portfolios as the men. They are given the opportunity to express themselves. They are given the same challenges and it is left for them to take such challenges. Just as we have male underwriters in motor, fire, accident, marine insurance policies. We also have ladies in life, engineering, oil, energy, claims, reinsurance, survey which are the more technical areas of insurance. They are proving themselves and doing great exploits.Would you say insurance sector is a male dominated industry'The insurance industry has more professional men than women. The industry is male dominated and this is not peculiar to insurance. The financial service industry is male dominated. This is still so because our mothers did not have the kind of exposure we have now. Most of them were house wives with the few among them who had opportunities to go to school settling into the teaching and secretarial profession. My late mum was a secretary and she never ever wanted any of her children to be a secretary. With time, more women would come into the industry and take their rightful place.Do you feel ladies have enough support from men in the industry'We have the full support of our male counterpart. The men have often times acknowledged that they cannot achieve much without our support and vice versa. There is this joke about the abbreviation for the Professional Insurance Ladies Association. The men are always quick to remind us that they are the beam supporting the PILA.What are the challenges of being a professional insurance lady'Challenges of attaining professional qualification by the ladies are varied. When you look at attitude and self will, these days young ladies even before the completion of their first degree are determined to take it a step further by having the right attitude and self will to start to write the professional exams before graduation. For smart students, they qualify upon graduation and have an edge over their counterparts. The lazy and unambitious students leave it till other exigencies compete for their attention.When you look at marriage, once a woman gets married, it may be difficult to combine the writing of the exams with marital obligations. When we were writing the exams, we were married and having our children. For those of us that had very supportive husbands and cooperative children, it was easy whilst those who didnt get the necessary encouragement qualified late or never did. Finance also counts, this can be an hindrance if a lady does not set her priorities right. For as much as we want to give the excuse of receiving salaries that cannot take us home, you still find that well focused students would maximise this meagre salary by settling down to write the exams fast. When you consider the office environment, if you do not have an office whose policy is to see to it that you improve yourself educationally, a lady may not easily acquire professional qualification. Smart ladies, who know the right things to do, get round this kind of problem.A few ladies have held leadership positions in this industry; do you feel they are acting as good mentors to the younger ladies'Yes they are very good mentors to the younger ladies. Several of them, and they are great PILAs who we are very proud of all the time.You have commenced plans to build your secretariat, how will the secretariat boost your activities'In 2005,the association bought a piece of land for N4.5m, measuring 968.917 square metre situated at 58, Iwaya Road, Onike, Yaba, Lagos. This is to enable it build a befitting secretariat for its meetings and to properly and effectively keep the documents of the association for posterity. Since the resuscitation of the association in 1999, by Sir Ogala Osoka, the Nigeria Reinsurance Corporation has been magnanimous enough to allow us the use of its board room for our monthly meetings. All the documents of the association are presently housed by the sitting president and this is not tidy enough. The secretariat shall also have a study centre for reading and learning more about insurance. That is why we bought a land close to a university community. All particulars as regards the full title of the said land have been obtained from the Lagos State Ministry of Lands in 2010 and are in the name of the association.How do you plan to complete this project to avoid being part of cases of uncompleted projects'For this tenure, the plan is to raise funds to kick start the project. Once we are able to lay the foundation of the three storey building and build it up to the decking, it would be binding on successive presidents to continue to build until the project is fully executed. We would strive to ensure that it does not become an uncompleted project or a white elephant project, God helping us.Do you think being a career woman can be a problem to having a successful home'Being a career woman should not be a problem to having a successful home. Women have been enjoined by God to be submissive. If you are submissive and revere your husband at all times you would have his back in all matters concerning you. A wise woman builds her home. It is not easy but it is doable. You are able to accomplish much than being foolish.What are the qualities required of a lady to be successful in insurance profession'Qualities required for a lady to be successful in insurance include hard working, painstaking, honesty, integrity, well mannered, neat, diligent, and she needs to be friendly.Does PILA have relationship with other female professional bodies in the financial sector'The PILA relates well with the association of Professional Women Bankers. We support each other by attending each others programmes.
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