Ganiyu Musa completes tenure as NIA chair with milestone achievements

Having taken over the mantle of leadership of the Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) in 2020 when the whole world was engulfed with apprehension over Covid-19, Ganiyu Musa, the 24th chairman of the industry trade body has completed his two years tenure with milestone achievements.

The year 2020 was uncertain for many sectors, particularly the insurance sector where focus of many consumers were on meeting basic needs rather than taking out insurance, but despite the lull, the industry remained strong, supporting growth of other businesses, thus giving credence to the strong leadership of the NIA boss.

For Ganiyu Musa, his biggest achievement was positioning the industry to complete the on-going recapitalisation in the industry by getting into the Finance Act 2021 the proper definition of capital for insurance companies, against when he described as defective provision in the 2003 insurance Act.

“We are delighted to report that with the President’s assent to the Finance Act 2021, we now have a more acceptable definition of capital. Prior to this time, the definition of Capital in Insurance Act 2003 was defective and highly restrictive.”

“We appreciate the Hon Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Commissioner for Insurance, KPMG and members of our Association for their support in seeing this process through. We are optimistic that this major milestone achievement has removed the major encumbrance on the recapitalization exercise, Musa stated.

According to him, another major achievement was the successful completion of the Insurers House project, which commenced in May 2018 that has become a befitting secretariat for the Association and a pride to the insurance industry at large. The Association also celebrated its 50th anniversary and it was a huge success under the Ganiyu Musa’s watch.

He also listed cordial relationship with the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), noting that the Association maintains a very cordial relationship with the insurance industry regulator in the overall interest of the market.

“This is to ensure that matters of common interest are discussed and agreed to avoid friction. This has resulted in the coming back of Insurers Committee Meetings, which provides opportunity for regular interface between NAICOM and Chief Executive Officers of member companies and they have become a veritable avenue for discussing pressing industry matters.”

The Association, Musa said is closely monitoring developments on the Consolidated Insurance Bill 2020 and will continue to pursue same doggedly until it is finally passed into law.

“The Association has participated in all the processes thus far and will continue to monitor developments in respect of the bill as it receives legislative attention. It is expected that the new law will have a positive impact on the insurance space in Nigeria and align it with global best practice.”

“The Association continues to scale up its engagements with the government with a view to creating more understanding of the importance and role of insurance in the national economy.”

The leadership of the Association, he noted has been engaging representatives of Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget And National Planning, the office of the Head of Service and the Accountant General’s Office on the issue of provision of appropriate data and payment of premium on insurance of government assets.

“Several meetings have been held with a view to resolving the data funding challenges. We are optimistic that all the areas of concern will be resolved as quickly as possible so that insurance companies can perform their statutory obligations in that regard.”

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Other achievements he listed include the Ecowas Brown Card Scheme, Driving Implementation of Compulsory Insurances, #Endsars Protest and Insurance Claims, as well as Market Development.

“The issue on the front burner now is automatic Brown card to cover Ecowas risks and this is expected to kick off when the Consolidated Insurance Bill is passed into law, he said.”

“We are engaging with Road Traffic Officers of the Federation to drive integration of the third-party motor Insurance across the states following their request for the implementation of the system in all 36 states including the FCT. The Association will continue to partner relevant government agencies on the adoption of the NIID/NIIP. We are also working with Lagos State Building Control Agency as part of engagements on the implementation of Lagos State Building law – Occupiers Liability and Builders Liability insurance. “

“The Association is also working closely with the state vehicle Inspection service on enforcement of Third-Party Motor Insurance in the States. Kaduna, Kogi, Rivers and Ogun States have already keyed into the project and more States are already discussing with the Association to finalize arrangements on how they can join”.

Our aim is to achieve national coverage and we remain hopeful that other states will see value in the platform and embrace it, he said.

On the EndSARS, protest he said “i am happy to report that as at December 2021, our member companies have paid over N11.1billion claims to insureds. The payments cut across several classes of insurance business such as Fire/Burnt Site, Vandalization, Burglary Attack, Loss of cash, Theft, Malicious damage, Looting Business Interruption and Death.

“We will continue to encourage our members to pay all genuine claims in line with the extant policies as this will boost the confidence of the insuring public, he said.”

On market development, he said the association will continue to complement the efforts of NAICOM in their campaign on domestication of compulsory insurances in the States and it is our expectation that laws on compulsory insurances can be domesticated in other states just as Lagos State has done.

“Beyond the efforts of the Commission, the Association has also scaled up its market development initiatives through strategic engagements with the various states especially Lagos State, where so many initiatives have been incepted.