A reknowed   expert in the Nigerian insurance  sector, Dritormstrong Harrison, has blamed the low penetration level of insurance  in the country on the influx of quacks  in the industry.
Harrison, who is the Chief Executive Officer  of Corporate Insurance Development  Limited,  Port Harcourt in an interview with  The Tide,  said that, the low patronage by the Nigerian  public   can be  attributed  to the ignorance of the insuring public, to differentiate  between insurance  brokers and agents or quacks, whose nefarious activities have continued to destroy  the industry.
“The perception of an average Nigerian about the industry is that, it is filled with fraudsters or brokers that don’t pay claims.
If you probe  further to ascertain if he has  ever been a victim of such  delayed claims settlement, you will find out that, he doesn’t  even hold any insurance  policy at all. All they say is hearsay from what they have heard from one place or the other”, he said.
Harrison affirmed that an insurance  company  that knows its onions,  would not want to treat its customers badly by delaying claim settlements  because  of the stiff  competition in the sector.
“Every insurer will not want to lose a customer to a competitor. One would, indeed, expect them to look for  reasons to pay claims, not reasons why claims  should not be paid and often  times,  many people  parade  themselves as brokers and when you  dig deep, you  will discover  that they are quacks,” he said.
He added that, the major  reason  people  assume all insurance  companies delay claim settlements intentionally is that when they have a loss,  they just expect  insurance  companies  to automatically  compensate them without considering  the type of policy they subscribed to or  without proper investigation  of what caused  the loss on the part of the insured.
However,  he stressed that Section 70 of the insurance Act 2003,  requires that, claims must be settled within 90 days  after the Insurance company  accepted  liability   and issued its discharge voucher.
“If the company fails to pay within this  period, the customer has the right  to approach  the National Insurance  Commission (NAICOM), but any firm that has its integrity to protect would not wait  for that to happen,” he added.
He pointed  out that, “many people are just ignorant  of specified  terms of service, which  ensure that all parties involved are informed  of their  responsibilities and the  penalties that may  occur from breaking these agreements. That made it practically  difficult  for insurance  companies not to  pay or delay  settlement of  claims.
Other  factors responsible for  delay of claims, according to Harrison, are lack of confirmation of coverage, which is based on the terms of  the insurance  policy, incomplete  documentation,  and premium  not fully paid. But when both  parties figure such issues, he said, payment should be  made after the insured  signs  the discharge voucher,  which indicates that a claim  has been settled amicably between the insurer and the insured.

Bethel Sam Toby