Traditional Institutions Critical To Grassroots Insurance Penetration’

The outgoing president, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN), Edwin Igbiti, has said,traditional institutions have a critical role to play in insurance penetration, especially, at the grassroots level in the country.

Igbiti, who stated this in his Valedictory Speech as the 51st president of CIIN, in Victoria Island, Lagos, at the weekend, noted that, hence, it is vital to solicit these institutions’ support and participation in the Institute’s programmes and activities.

According to him, “We organised several conferences and training to develop the skills of professionals in delivering quality services to their clients as this is believed to aid insurance penetration.”

Under his watch, he said, the centre of activities at the Institute was targeted at boosting insurance awareness among the populace, noting that, the institute judiciously utilised all its platforms, social and educational to create insurance awareness as well as its many benefits as a profession and as a service.

“The institute’s noteworthy programmes which include the Insurance Professionals’ Forum, Secondary School Quiz Competition, Nite of Talents, Family Picnic, the Fitness Walk, Ramadan Tafsir, Bootcamp, Christmas Carol, Elders’ Forum amongst others functioned as a viable medium to encourage insurance as a lifestyle. The experiential value of these events continued to provide top-of-mind awareness to insurance stakeholders and the general public. This was also achieved at the international level, where we held the international executive programme in Frankfurt, Germany,”,” he pointed out.

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While urging stakeholders of the industry to passionately support this programme and encourage the vibrant insurers to continue to participate, he added that the programme indeed showcased the intellectual capabilities of the next generation of insurance practitioners in the industry.

In furtherance to these, he noted that, other programmes like the Boot Camp, Mentoring Programme and Secondary School Quiz Competitions were up and in motion to ensure that the young generation is trained, mentored and educated on insurance.

“As of today, the Institute has about 30 voluntary mentors who guide and shape the career path of young insurance practitioners in the industry and the Secondary School Quiz Competition was held in Lagos, Ogun and Benin respectively.

Insurance Textbooks were donated to secondary school students. In the last two years, thousands of copies of the books have been distributed to various geopolitical zones of the country either through the Ministry of Education or directly to schools,” he disclosed.

The Institute, he said, also partnered Messrs. Adepegba & Co to compile and publish a compendium of Courts Judgement on Insurance and related Cases in Nigeria Courts- Aide Memoirs for Members (Volume 1), which is aimed to become reference materials for insurance law in Nigeria.

Saying his administration was able to upscale the efforts of his predecessors in ensuring that the Institute’s infrastructural standards are maintained and the College of Insurance and Financial Management building was completed to global standards, he added that, the development at the Institute’s Victoria Island property is still in process as it is a top priority for the Institute.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the occasion, who is also a past president of the institute, Sir Ogala Osoka, said, Igbiti’s tenure witnessed the strengthening of several activities of the Institute including reaching out to the younger generation thereby growing awareness of the Insurance profession in our tertiary institutions.

Through Igbiti’s initiative, he said, the Institute was able to open up new frontiers in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. In addition, courses were introduced for Loss Adjusting and Broking. In all, he led the Council in championing diversity and inclusiveness, recognising the need to uphold professional standards in insurance practices.