Insurance and pension consultant, Mr Babatunde Raimi, has urged the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) to strengthen enforcement of the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA 2025) to ensure prompt settlement of claims by insurance firms.
Raimi said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Lagos.
NAN reports that NIIRA 2025 mandates insurance companies to settle claims within 60 days of notification or within the timeline stipulated in the NAICOM Service Charter.
The law also prescribes penalties, including a N500,000 fine and compound interest, for firms that fail to settle claims within the stipulated period.
Raimi said stricter enforcement had become necessary to protect policyholders from the hardship caused by delayed or unpaid claims.
According to him, although some insurance firms have improved in claims settlement, others still fail to meet obligations to customers.
“We have observed weak regulations on the part of NAICOM.
“When insurance companies do not keep to the terms, the policyholders suffer,” he said.
Raimi urged NAICOM to strengthen its supervisory role to ensure operators comply fully with the provisions of NIIRA 2025.
He noted that the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) had also intervened in some cases involving claims default.
Raimi cited a recent annuity-related case involving a critically ill woman whose payments were allegedly withheld during treatment.
“Recently, a woman was critically ill in the Intensive Care Unit in a case involving annuity.
“The company refused to pay the woman’s annuity until she died, and the money that should ordinarily have been used for her treatment was later used for her burial.
“Cases like this should be avoided,” he said.
According to him, effective enforcement of NIIRA 2025 would restore public confidence in the insurance industry and improve acceptance of insurance products in the country.
He added that timely claims settlement remained critical to deepening insurance penetration in Nigeria.
