Against the backdrop of heaping concerns over delay in passage of 2019 budget, general elections around the corner and associated economic risks confronting businesses in this new year, corporate insurance clients are said to be living up to expectation in signing for their insurance coverage for the current year.
According to feelers from the insurance industry concerning January renewals, corporate clients are taking coverage and paying their premiums, while government, their agencies and parastatal are not forthcoming yet, giving reasons that the budget is still being expected.
Currently, insurance companies are engaging their clients and broker partners for the 2019 renewals, with different value propositions for retention and signing of new businesses.
Underwriting companies are also busy now lobbing brokers on new accounts and renewal of existing business, and also signing of reinsurance treaties with major reinsurance companies, both home and abroad.
Yinka Adekoya, managing director/CEO, Wapic Insurance plc, says January renewals has not been bad, “we are getting positive responses from our corporate clients.
“Yes, the non-passage of the budget is a big issue for the economy because it is when budget is signed that government can spend money and government has a key role to play in supporting insurance.”
Adekoya states that the corporate clients are coming irrespective of the economic situation because of the value they attach to their assets.
“The country is unpredictable at the moment, but we pray and hope that the election will be peaceful, so that the economy can start running again and government can pay for insurance, particularly that of its employees group life,” a broker says.
Tope Smart, chairman, NIA, says the insurance industry is hopeful that the election will be successful so that things can fall in place, saying, “We are hoping that government will renew its employee’s group life insurance this year because that is a major part of our business.”
Federal Government, it would be recalled, did not pay for group life insurance of its employees in the last eight months of 2018 till date, meaning that deceased employee relatives did not get compensation from insurers during the period.
According to industry operators, about N15 billion claims were recorded but because government did not pay premiums, such claims were declined.
The implication is that the dependants of workers who died when premium was not paid do not have anything to claim from the insurance companies, as there is a ‘no premium no cover’ policy in place.
No Premium No Cover, a provision of Section 50(1) of the Insurance Act 2003, states that “the receipt of an insurance premium shall be a condition precedent to a valid contract of insurance and there shall be no cover in respect of the insurance risk unless the premium is paid in advance.”
