Mutual Benefits chairman says Nigeria’s insurance commissioner working hard to restore industry’s glory

Akin Ogunbiyi, Chairman of Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc has lauded the Commissioner for Insurance, Thomas Sunday for his commitment to ensure the restoration of the insurance industry’s glory.

Ogunbiyi, who expressed this during an interaction with journalists, said, “The current Commissioner for Insurance, Thomas Sunday, is trying to galvanise the industry to assume its expected position as the leader of the financial sector and the driver of the Nigerian economy.”

According to the Mutual Benefits Assurance chairman, the commissioner is a thoroughbred professional who is passionate about turning around the fortune of the industry for the good of the practitioners, the insuring public and the nation at large.

Ogunbiyi said, “The Commissioner has brought intellectual energy and flavour into the industry. For the first time in the history of the Nigerian insurance industry, we are having a thoroughbred practitioner as the Commissioner for Insurance. This is someone who had worked in many insurance companies, including NICON, before becoming the Director-General of the Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA). Later he was appointed the Deputy Commissioner for Insurance (Technical), where he served for many years before becoming the Commissioner. So, he understands the industry and is determined to make it work for the benefit of the whole country.”

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According to the Mutual Benefits helmsman, the Insurance Commissioner wants to return the industry to the era when it played pivotal role in the economy, adding that he would require the support of all practitioners to achieve this.

He said, “There was a time when the insurance industry led the financial sector of the Nigerian economy. At a time in this country, insurance companies were the prime investors in banks. When the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was being built, insurance companies made solid investments in critical areas, such as hotels, to ensure the development of the FCT. Over the years, the insurance industry has made huge contributions to the economic development of the country. But overtime that has changed. The Commissioner wants to take the industry back to its glorious era. That is why he has been working on strengthening regulation and encouraging creativity in the industry.”

Ogunbiyi, who cited an example of how the Commissioner encourages creativity in the industry, said, “When the Commissioner visited Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc, he lauded the company for being one of the greatest employers of labour in the country. He said that through the company’s retail activities, it has been able to take a lot of people out of the labour market. Similarly, when he visited Mutual Benefits’ Retail Plaza in Mushin, Lagos State, he was full of praise for the company, saying that he was really very proud of what we are doing. The Commissioner assured that during his tenure insurance will take its rightful place as the driver of the economy. He also said that he would encourage other insurance companies to think out of the box and come up with products that would address specific needs of the market.”