Richard Borokini has retired as the Director-General of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria, having joined the Institute in March 2016 and served for four eventful years. In this interview with Modestus Anaesoronye, he shares his experience as CEO of the Institute, his achievements and challenges. Excerpt:
Congratulations Sir on the successful completion of your appointment as the DG of CIIN. How was it working in this Institute all these while?
It has been an exciting experience. It gave me an ample opportunity to serve the industry after working in various insurance companies rising to the post of Managing Director of a leading insurance company in Nigeria, Royal Exchange General Insurance Company.
Would you say from your experience here, that the Institute was meeting its set goals?
I can affirm that the Institute has been meeting the goals for which it was established. The Institute is established by the law to determine the standards of knowledge and skills to be attained by persons seeking to become registered members of the insurance profession in Nigeria and review those standards from time to time as circumstances may permit. So far so good the Institute has fulfilled this mandate by conducting examinations twice a year and graduating qualifying students from the examinations. To date, we have produced close to 3,500 associates and 217 Fellows. We have consistently held seminars , conferences and other educational programs for the benefit of our members and the financial services sector e.g Breakfast seminars , Professional Forums, Education Seminars , Mentorship programs for young insurance professionals.
For the social well being of our members, we have held such programs like the fitness, annual Picnics and the elders forum. ln the last few months because of the outbreak of the Covid 19 pandemic some of this programs are now being held virtually. For example the last Mentorship Program for Young Professionals was held virtually and we had over 120 participants.
This will be the trend for most of our programs in the new normal
What was difficult for you to achieve as the DG, and what were your hindrances?
Reaching the target set for Membership. Although we tried to increase the penetration from 8,000 in 2016 to 12 ,000 in year 2020. This is still far from the targets. The major hindrance is raising the level of awareness for insurance and the Institute that will cause people to embrace our profession.
Are you comfortable with the state of the insurance industry today? If not, what are your frustrations?
The industry certainly has made some progress but a lot still need to be done to increase our contribution to the GDP which is very low. We need a collective effort to do this.
We should not compete on price, but on the value of our product offerings.
Give your view on what the insurance industry will be in the next five years?
In the next five years, we should have doubled what we are producing as an industry which will affect our contribution to the GDP. Our insurance professionals should be able to measure up with their peers anywhere in the world in terms of knowledge and disposition.
Richard Borokini has seen it all, both as a player and now a kind of regulator, what next are you planning to do after CIIN?
I will be actively involved in sharing knowledge to the young ones and offering professional services to the industry as a lawyer and Chartered Insurance practitioner. Also i will now have ample opportunity to write books which i loved to always do and most importantly have more time to serve God.
What is your view on the ongoing recapitalization in the insurance industry?
If it is properly handled, it will lead to the growth of the industry. The regulator should work with the operators on how best to implement this without causing much disruption.
