Olorundare Sunday Thomas: NAICOM’s light-speed improvements in the Insurance Sector

Olorundare Sunday Thomas’ appointment as the substantive Commissioner for Insurance and Chief Executive Officer of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), became effective April 30, 2020; having been appointed in acting capacity in Aug 2019 following the expiration of the tenure of Mr. M U Kari, the former Commissioner for Insurance.

Before this appointment, Thomas was the Deputy Commissioner in charge of technical matters at the Commission between April 2017 and August 2019. Mr. Thomas is a thorough-bred insurance professional with vast knowledge and experience in underwriting, regulation, and hands-on management of human and material resources spanning over four decades uninterrupted.

During these years, Mr. Thomas had traversed the entire insurance sector in Nigeria leaving indelible marks along the way. It is instructive to note that Mr. O. S. Thomas (as widely known) who served as Director-General of the Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) between May 2010 and April 2017, brought his experience to bear on the job. It is to his credit that the Association successfully developed and deployed the Nigeria Insurance Industry Database (NIID) platform.

He holds a BSc (Hons) in Actuarial Science and an MBA in Finance both from the University of Lagos. He is also an Associate Member of the Chartered Insurance Institute, London and Nigeria, Member Society of Fellows of the CII London, Member, Nigeria Institute of Management among others.

With strategic policies and plans, driven to enhance market development, efficiency in service delivery, protection of consumers as well as stakeholder confidence in the insurance business, the industry has not only seen improved rating but keying to launch into new growth areas and levels.

When he was appointed substantive commissioner for Insurance by President Mohammadu Buhari, on the 3rd of May 2020, having been the Deputy Commissioner in charge of technical matters since 2017, many no doubt believed in his ability to bring in changes that would elevate the status of the sector.

Like an industry analyst described him, “Thomas has been properly seasoned for the task on hand, having served in the Commission for close to three decades and rose steadily to become the Director Technical, a position from which he retired with infallible track records of achievements. His appointment as the Director-General of the Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) after leaving NAICOM gave him more penetrative insight into the activities of the Association, regarded as one of the critical cornerstones of the insurance industry in Nigeria before providence railed him back to NAICOM as the Deputy Commissioner in charge of Technical before his present position.”

Mr. Thomas has proven he can be relied upon; having successfully begun the drive to increase insurance penetration and market development in the country.

Mr. Thomas has promised to bring insurance services to all nooks and crannies of the country, stating that the 2021-2023 Strategic Plan has five goals designed to entrench effective and efficient service delivery, ensure a safe, sound, and stable insurance sector, adequately protect policyholders, and public interest, improve trust and confidence in the insurance sector and encourage innovation and promote insurance market development.

“We also know that with the engagement we have had with the Nigerian content, there is going to be an increase in the oil and gas business. As I speak now, we have a committee working on the guidelines to enforce the law in the Nigerian content. All the leakages we have had hitherto will be blocked,” Mr. Thomas said.

On the need to expand the basket the NAICOM boss said, two Takaful insurance companies have been licensed in addition to the existing two, adding that the Commission is conscious of the fact that the insurance sector is knowledge-based which informed the ongoing development of more actuarial analysts capacity in the industry as the first step of having more qualified actuaries in the country.

“We know that the drivers of the economy are those at the lower levels of the pyramid and so we are taking financial inclusion very seriously. It is now a national policy. For the insurance sector, we are far behind, but we are doing a lot of catching up. To this effect, four micro-insurance companies have been licensed and an additional two are on the verge of being licensed”

It is no news that the Nigerian Insurance Industry has been struggling to get its constancy among the financial service providers in the country’s economy. The liability can be assigned to diverse reasons, among them, recession, abhorrent belief system, unprofessional practices by administrators, distrust, disrepute, and, obviously, inadequate guidelines and control.

These hindering variables have restricted the extent of insurance industry development in the nation when contrasted with its counterparts in different climes where the insurance industry is the turn of financial development and social adjustment.

Although the industry’s operators and the controller seem to have put their fingers on these militating factors against its development, the pathway for conquering the difficulties appears to have been cast for certain troubles.

Numerous administrators, comprised of insurance guarantors, Brokers, Loss Adjusters, Reinsurers, and Agents have had an intermingling of perspectives about their assumptions and criterion for better guidelines from the public authority administrative office of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM).

There is a contention that what the industry had seen before the appearance of the current administration could be likened to a burial ground stillness, because of what they viewed as “brutal administrative remedy” occasioning a frosty connection between the administrators and NAICOM.

For example, on the Insurance Brokers side, a large number of the administrators have needed to battle with immense fines and punishments for minor infractions, justifying the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) to concoct a mediatory stage to diminish the hazardous approaches towards its members.

Additionally, protection financiers have their story of burdens to tell from comparative fines and punishments from the Commission.

Much as it is important to disinfect the business and mend it of its pollutions, administrators maintained the point of view that guidelines ought to be with a superior human face to have the ideal impact.

The icy cold connection between the controller and the administrators was very obvious in the considered lawful cases planned sooner or later by the NCRIB against the Commission on the proposed execution of the States Insurance Providers (SIP) seen by Brokers as a passing toll to their generally delicate presence.

Additionally, the protection guarantors in a confidential meeting examined the choice of the Commission on its order on the Tier-based capitalization in court.

The climate in the industry has become more accomodating, with the desire for all the more consistent advancement because of a better working relationship and comprehension of the activities in the industry under the current authority of the Commission.

Lately, the Commission has been associated with more cordial and logical guidelines without the standard thing “director student relationship” that it was noted for.

Counsel appears to have now turned into the standard between the controllers and the administrators for a superior industry. Although the business, especially guarantors had been on the hotness concerning the requirement for them to fulfill the time constraint for recapitalization at first set for June 30, 2020, around from the Commission demonstrated that “following a survey of recapitalization plans by the administrators and different levels of the consistency noticed” the deadline was extended to December 31, 2020, a move that has received commendation from a cross section of administrators, monetary administrations specialists and investors.

Many were of the view that the underlying June 31, 2020 deadline had put the guarantors on the edge since they saw it could prompt loss of functional benefits, giving more deductions to the generally delicate condition of the protection business.

It is believed that the new system would eliminate the delay associated with the restoration interaction which regularly obstructs their focus on the center assignment of developing their organizations and go about as a disincentive to their expert practice.

While the difficulties of developing the Insurance industry through the determined indictment of the law on necessary insurance and guaranteeing financial inclusion across the industry are confronting the Commission, the current style of administration of the Commission is probably going to take the industry to its ideal objective. As a useful advance to accomplishing sectoral embrace of Insurance, it is encouraging that NAICOM had as of late been drawing in crucial partners, for example, the Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), held gatherings with Insurance Directors consistently with different insurance customers in the nation.

Since it is generally expected that the buck rests on leadership, regardless of whether positively or negatively, considerable credits need to go to the Commissioner for Insurance, Mr. Sunday Thomas for applying the Midas touch towards regulating the business on his assumption of office.

It is pertinent to note that Mr. Thomas has been appropriately prepared for the assignment, having served in the Commission for near thirty years and rose consistently to be appointed for the position of a Director Technical, a role from which he retired with reliable histories of accomplishments in his path.

Most certainly, his role as the Director-General of the Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) after leaving NAICOM gave him more penetrative understanding into the activities of the Association, viewed as one of the basic foundations of the insurance industry in Nigeria before fortune railed him back to NAICOM as the Deputy Commissioner accountable for Technical before his current position.

No question assuming the current climate of harmony, agreement building, and compassion that have portrayed the tasks and attitude of NAICOM towards insurance administrators perseveres, it would simply involve time for the insurance industry to encounter the much-wanted sustainable development, for which incredible credits would go to the current authority of the Commission under Sunday Thomas and his amiable team.

Insurance as a technology-driven business achieved a feat during the period under review. The Commission completed the first phase of its portal. The portal started nine years ago, but until last year, nothing was happening. Today, the functioning portal is already up and running.

In an attempt to increase insurance penetration in the country as well as increase government participation in the insurance business, Thomas said the Commission is currently engaging state governments to draw them closer and bring the gospel of insurance to their doorsteps. In the last year, some states governors have been visited by the Commission, he said.

On the enforcement of compulsory insurance, the Commissioner stated that NAICOM has embarked on various engagement measures across the country. Aside from visiting state governments to solicit for their support, NAICOM is also working in collaboration with the Federal Road Safety Corps, Federal ministry of transportation, Federal Fire Service, among others.