NAICOM gives firms September 31 deadline to clear all outstanding claims

The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), insurance industry regulator, has given insurance firms September 31, 2015, deadline to pay all outstanding claims in their books or face the wrath of the law.

From October 1, 2015, NAICOM shall evoke the full application of punitive sections of the Insurance Act, including but not limited to sections 8(I) m, 70(b) and 70(2) without further recourse, said the Commission in a circular issued Tuesday, titled “Claims Settlement and the Image of the Insurance Industry.”

According to the statement signed by Mohammed Kari, deputy commissioner for Insurance, technical, and sent to all insurance firms: “You would recall that the Commission collated claims details from all insurance companies and complaints on delayed and unsettled claims from members of the insuring public in its efforts to verify the persistent complaints of the consumers of insurance about an unsavoury attitude of the providers that has brought the image of the industry to disrepute.