African governments have been tasked to introduce deliberate policy support tools to grow the insurance industry on the continent.
The Commissioner for Insurance and CEO of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Mr Sunday O. Thomas, who expressed this view, also called on African governments to collaborate and support insurance sector growth on the continent.
According to him, the insurance industry in Africa has underperformed compared to other sectors such as banking and telecommunication and therefore vowed to change the narrative.
Mr. Thomas thus charged the newly elected President of the African Insurance Organisation (AIO), Mr. Tope Smart, to coordinate the collaboration.
He said the AIO president should coordinate governments across the continent to play their roles in providing the necessary support and create an enabling environment for insurance activities to flourish.
The NAICOM boss further said AIO should also persuade the governments on the continued lifting of border barriers to make the movement of resources possible, promote healthy competitions among member states, promote knowledge sharing across the continent, among other objectives that would make insurance business thrive within the African market.
Mr. Thomas who noted that the commission had been able to get more support from the Nigerian government, stated that this was the very first time that any Nigerian president or head of state would personally attend any programme of the insurance sector in Nigeria.
He expressed excitement that not only was President Muhammadu Buhari paying attention to the sector, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; Minister of Finance, Dr. Zainab Ahmed, and some state governors were also doing the same, as evidenced by their presence at the recent AIO conference.
He said, “The founding fathers of AIO had a very thoughtful foresight by making sure we have this forum that has over these years achieved tremendous success in harmonizing the African insurance markets and bringing together experts of different insurance faculties annually to discuss burning issues affecting the continent and the rest of the world. I believe the outcome of all our deliberations in the last few days will go a long way in helping us thrive higher in achieving our goals and objectives.”
Addressing the new AIO president, Mr. Thomas said, “The journey ahead may not be all smooth, especially due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the shapes of our economies across Africa presently. There is a huge task ahead of you and your team, but working with you over the years gives me high confidence that you are equal to the task. I can vouch for your hard work, resilience, foresight, and determination.”
He further said, “The signing of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) has provided an avenue to foster unity and integration within the Africa region. It provides an avenue for the achievement of a common market for goods and services, guaranteeing free movement of human resources, investment, and technology.”
The AIO President who is the Managing Director (MD) of NEM Insurance, Mr Smart, said his one year in office would focus on adoption of digitalization; collaboration with other markets; partnership with governments and regulators, and building customer trust.
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