Senate Kills Insurance Brokers Bill

Senate on Monday at a public hearing organised by its committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions frustrated attempts to seek legal backing for Insurance brokerage and accord professional status to the practitioners.

The bill, entitled, “The Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers Act 2003 (repeal and re-enactment) Bill 2015″ was rejected based on the advice of stakeholders at the occasion.

The participants insisted that the document, if passed into law, would be inimical to the growth of the insurance industry.

For instance, Joe Irukwu, chairman, Insurance Industry Law Review Committee, who is also a former president, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria, kicked against certain aspects of the bill in his submissions.

He argued that some aspects of the proposed bill are unconventional and detrimental especially in the context of universal and settled principles of insurance regulation.

Irukwu, popularly referred to as ‘Doyen of insurance’ explained that the National Insurance Commission was empowered to supervise and regulate the insurance industry.

He described the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers as a trade association just to promote interest of members.

He therefore said that the NCRIB under the proposed Act should not double as practitioners as well as regulators.

His said, “The bill if enacted will be in conflict with the provisions of Act 22 of 1993 which gives legal powers to the Chattered Insurance Institute of Nigeria.”

The CIIN, according to him, is the body charged with the general duty of determining the standards of knowledge and skill to be attained by persons seeking to become registered members of the insurance profession in Nigeria.

This he said, included the business of Insurance Broking.

He said, “Furthermore, if the bill is passed as proposed, it will compromise standards and make the discipline of Insurance practitioners inimical to the future growth of the industry.

“The insurance is a key factor in our financial services industry and should not be polarised at a time when it should be strengthened for greater efficiency. The bill if passed into law as proposed will not help to advance the growth and development of the industry.

“The National Insurance Commission is the body statutorily empowered to supervise and regulate the whole of the Insurance industry in Nigeria in the interest of the public.

“Whereas the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers is a trade association established to promote the interests of its members.

“The NCRIB cannot be practitioners and at the same time be regulators. The bill as proposed is fundamentally flawed as it seeks to take away the statutory powers and responsibility of NAICOM as regulators and confer on NCRIB the power to regulate itself.