How governments can reduce expenditures through insurance ― Thomas

The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has implored governments to reduce their expenditures through the provision of insurance for all their risks.

Commissioner for Insurance, Sunday Thomas, who gave the advice at the sensitisation workshop for insurance desk officers of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) on the insurance of Federal Government assets and liabilities. In Abuja government assets are insured to cushion the impact and reduce the burden when catastrophic events happen.

“It is very worrisome to the Commission that most assets and liabilities of government are never adequately and appropriately insured, which further accentuated the need for urgent measures to be put in place by the Commission to ensure that government gets value for money in the purchase of insurance by MDAs.

It is the desire of NAICOM to change this narrative for good,” he said.

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Thomas explained that NAICOM launched the Market Development and Restructuring Initiative (MDRI) project in 2009 to create awareness on compulsory insurance products, educate the public on the long-term benefits of insurance to policyholders and the economy at large.

While NAICOM bore the responsibility of disseminating key messaging on the benefits of compulsory insurance, he disclosed that it relied on MDAs to help domesticate the Initiative in their respective offices and perhaps, serve as the primary vehicles for enforcement of compulsory insurances in their various MDAs.

He maintained that the sensitisation workshop was aimed at equipping insurance desk officers with the necessary tools to ensure that all MDAs have adequate insurance coverage for all government assets and liabilities to curb wastage occasioned by losses of uninsured assets.

“At the end of this Workshop, it is expected that insurance desk officers will now have the capacity to gauge the insurance protection needs of government assets under their purview and provide their principals with technical advice on the required insurance coverage for government assets and liabilities,” he submitted.

He stressed the need to build the capacity of insurance desk officers, enthrone transparency and accountability to ensure that government gets value for money in the purchase of insurance would help take both government and insurance practitioners a step further in contributing effectively to the economic growth and development.

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE

How governments can reduce expenditures through insurance