The insurance industry is highly in need of more professionals, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN) President, Mrs Funmi Babington-Ashaye, has said.
She made this known at the third graduation of the College of Insurance and Financial Management (CIFM) at Asese Village in Ogun State.
The theme of the graduation lecture was: The 21st century insurance professionals is quite apt.
She said the profession is no longer conservative as it uses information technology and social media, especially the millennials, adding that this has brought positive changes to the industry.
She said: “Consequently, without any gainsaying, it is my utmost belief that our graduands, being part of the digital generation, represent the future of the industry, and would be among the insurance practitioners that will take the industry to the next level.’’
Governing Board Chairman, Mr Eddie Efekoha, advised the graduands to embrace high ethical standards in their practice, warning that there is zero tolerance for unethical behaviour and the CIIN would sanction any one found guilty.
Efekoha, who is also CIIN Deputy President, noted that their vision is to make the institution highly competitive.
The college’s Rector, Dr. Yeside Oyetayo, said the institution recognises that the industry requires some specific skills to propel it to the next level and take its rightful place in economic development.
“Consequently, the college has partnered various international organisations, such as the Impact Insurance Facility of the ILO, GIZ, a German trade facilitation agency, and Actuaries Without Borders, a non-profit volunteer organisation within the International Actuarial Association (IAA), to deliver on our mission.
‘’Our efforts have not gone unnoticed and the recent appointment of the college as the certifying institution for Bancasssurance officers in the industry is an attestation to this fact. The college has continued to deepen its involvement with the industry through customised training programs to meet specific needs of various companies in the industry.’’
“The college is also involved in the CIIN insurance education and awareness initiatives such as the ‘Catch them Young’ programme of the youths during their service year. Furthermore, the College is part of the CIIN Presidents efforts to increase the number of universities offering insurance as a degree programme. The collaboration with Babcock University to develop the curriculum for the insurance programme which is commencing next year is an example of this.
“Similarly, the College offers full-time and part-time Diploma in Insurance and Certificate Courses in Risk Management, Pensions and Annuity and Islamic Finance and Takaful. Furthermore, we also conduct induction training for new recruits in the insurance industry. We are also currently collaborating with universities in Nigeria offering degree courses in insurance on our Foundation Programme in a bid to increase the enrolment levels for insurance programs in various universities”, she noted.
