Allow Brilliant Minds Into Insurance Sector – Elumelu Urges NAICOM

Chairman of Heirs Holdings, Tony Elumelu has urged the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) to open the nation’s insurance sector to young and innovative minds and limit years of experience only to technical areas.

Gatekeepers News reports that Elumelu made the call on Monday in Abuja at the ongoing National Insurance Conference 2023, organized by NAICOM. The event was themed ‘Redefining Safety: Insurance Solutions For Public Buildings and building under construction’.

“NAICOM should allow brilliant minds to come into the insurance sector and limit years of experience only to technical areas. Let us open the insurance sector in Nigeria to our young and innovative minds.”

He said with the right enabling environment, “we will see the transformation of the Nigerian insurance sector.”

“Let me emphasize that our regulators and the government have a critical role to play in making insurance a common right of every Nigerian citizen”

Elumelu, the Founder of Tony Elumelu Foundation, also proposed a N50 billion capital base for consolidated insurance companies operating in Nigeria, with general business N30 billion and life businesses N20 billion.

He explained that had become necessary to recapitalize the insurance industry firms in the country as the current N8 billion capital base for life and N10 billion for general is inadequate.

Elumelu also recommended N1billion recapitalization for brokers.

He further called on the commission to focus on substance and things that will shape the sector and stop approving adverts.

Elumelu said the commission should use the time for approving adverts for more important aspects of regulation and save taxpayers money for more catalytic actions.

He also recommended that the industry should mandatorily contribute 0.5 percent of total revenue to drive industry awareness for 5 years, noting that the leadership of Nigeria Insurers Associations (NIA ) should administer this initiative professionally.