By David Akinmola
The Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) has moved to strengthen technical capacity in two critical segments of the insurance industry, with the inguration of dedicated Agricultural Insurance and Reinsurance Technical Committees to address emerging risks, improve underwriting standards and deepen professional expertise.
The move, according to the association, has become necessary as operators confront growing technical and operational challenges in specilised areas of insurance business, requiring greater collaboration, knowledge sharing and adherence to best practices.
With the inauguration of the two committees, the NIA now has 16 technical Committees, reflecting the association’s expanding focus on developing specialized expertise and providing structured platforms for insurers to tackle issues affecting the growing of the industry.
Speaking at the inauguration, the Director-General of the NIA, Mrs. Bola Odukale, said the new committees were established in response to call from members of the Governing Council and other industry stakeholders for dedicated platforms to address emerging issues and strengthen professional practice in agricultural insurance and reinsurance.
She described the technical committees as an essential platform for advancing the insurance industry, strengthen that the specialized committees would provide a forum for insurance to collectively examine sector-specific challenges and develop practical solutions.
Odukale said the Agriculral Insurance Technical Committees would focus on promoting best practices in agricultural insurance, while strengthening the capacity of member companies in underwriting and claims management.
The need for stronger technical expertise in agricultural insurance is particularly significant given the exposure of the Nigerian agricultural sector to weather-related and other risks, which continue to affect famers, agricultural investments and food production.
For the reinsurance segment, the NIA DG said the newly inaugurated Reinsurance Technical Committee would focus on reinsurance matters and practices, while improving the capacity of member companies in reinsurance underwriting and claims management.
She added that the committees would also promote collaboration among industry players and support the development of professional standards capable of strengthening the wider insurance market.
The inauguration also featured a briefing for members of the two committees on their roles, responsibilities and expected contributions to industry development, after which elections were conducted to establish their leadership structures.
For the Agricultural Insurance Technical Committee, Leonard Okoroafor of AllCO Inurance Plc emerged as Chairman, while Baron Omiji of Guinea Insurance Plc became Deputy Chairman. Adebayo Olukolajo of Leadway Assurance was elected secretary, with Ndidi Nkeonyeasura Olagunju of Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) emerging as Assistance Sectary.
In the Reinsurance Technical Committee, Helen Osadunkwu of Cornesrtone Insurance was elected Chairman, with Ochuko Efenure of Zenith Insurance Plc while Oteikhila Godskingdom of emPLE Insurance was elected Assistant Sectary.
The development comes as the Nigerian insurance industry continues to seek stronger technical and financial capacity following the completion of the recapitalization exercise, with attention increasingly shifting from meeting minimum capital requirements to essuring that operators can effectively deploy their capital, underwrite larger risks and improve service delivery.
Industry players have long identifyied technical capacity, product innovation, risk assessment and claims management as critical to improving insurance penetration and public confidence. For agricultural insurance in particular, stronger underwriting expertise could help insurers develop products that better reflect the realities of farmers and agricultural businesses, while improved reinsurance capacity could enable operators to assure and retain larger risks.
The NIA said the inauguration reaffirmed its commitment to building technical capacity, encouraging collaboration and promoting standards that would support sustainable growth of the association and the Nigerian insurance industry.
