FG’s Premium Indebtedness Hits N24Bn

Federal government is owing insurance firms N24 billion premium while it has paid N669 billion to banks as interest in one year, according to Mr. Ganiyu Musa, managing director, Cornerstone Insurance Plc

Speaking at the Members’ Evening of the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) in Lagos, Musa added that only N300 billion was generated by the industry since its recapitalisation in 2007, describing the figure as poor.

More appalling, he said, was that assets of banks are worth N22.5 trillion while that of insurers is about N0.621 trillion.

Citing insurance companies’ performance with banks, Musa said while insurance companies are richer than banks in developed countries, it is not so in the country.

He urged his colleagues to do things differently for the public to take seriously.

He said: “Although we have been competing fiercely and robustly, there is the need for us to do more. “The need for the industry to achieve a better premium income as against the N300billion generated is crucial to the growth of the industry.

Laide Osijo, NCRIB president, said the professional body has attained a height where it has become an envy among professional institutions in the country and beyond.

She said: “Through the entrenchment of sound ethical practice and professional conduct, insurance brokers now have a conspicuous place in the comity of respected professionals.

“It is a thing of delight that the respect and amity that now exists between the NCRIB and the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) and other professional bodies is unprecedented.