The Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA), said it generated about N196 million from data upload on the Nigerian Insurance Industry Database (NIID) in the 2019 business operation.
NIID is a platform where policyholders can verify the genuineness of their policies sold by insurance agents or peddlers.
In its 2019 financial report made available to The Guardian at the weekend, about N5 million was raised from sponsorship, while N9.14 million was realised as accrued interest.

The report put the balance at the beginning of last year at N99.99 million, disbursement at N84.27 million, while the net sum realised after all expenses was N101 million.

The immediate past Chairman of the NIA, Tope Smart, said the NIID and the Nigerian Insurance Industry Platform (NIIP), are two flagship projects which the Association is highly committed to their success.

“The Association carried out a campaign, tagged: ‘Wetin You Carry’ to promote Third Party Motor Insurance uptake among motorists in Lagos. The Association also participated actively in the Workshop for Vehicle Insurance Officers (VIOs) across the 36 states of the Federation, and the Federal Capital Territory, which was held in Lagos. The event provided an ample opportunity for the Association to make a presentation to provide more insight into the Insurance database and the NIIP.

“We are optimistic that these engagements and many others with the various stakeholders have helped the Association to build the needed synergy with the various partners including the state VIOs in the enforcement of Third Party Motor Vehicle Insurance in Nigeria,” he said.

The Director-General of the Association, Mrs. Yetunde Ilori, said the NIID system, now in its 10th year of implementation has been effective in transforming the motor insurance policy landscape of the Industry, adding that the NIIP – a unified platform for the sale of 3rd Party Motor Insurance cover, has since been deployed and is running live for business transactions.

“As part of efforts to promote third party Motor Insurance uptake among the populace, the Secretariat embarked on a mass media campaign on insurance awareness, tagged: ‘WETIN YOU CARRY’ with the deployment of fully-kitted insurance squad. During the period of the campaign, there was an upsurge in the use of the USSD code *565*11#, which enables policyholders and enforcement agencies to confirm the authenticity of motor insurance policy through their mobile phones,” she stated.

Ilori also said in the year under review, the Marine Module of NIID received the final buy-in of the Nigeria Customs Service, the agency responsible for the clearance of goods crossing the borders into the country, which require an insurance certificate as one of the documents for the clearance of goods.

“To this end, the NIID was integrated with the Nigeria Integrated Customs Information System (NICIS) for verification of marine insurance certificates issued by NIA members on the Nigeria Single Window Trade Portal – the government trade facilitation website.

“Within the first two weeks of live integration to the Trade portal, over 20,000 marine certificates were validated real time. Importers with genuine marine insurance certificates now enjoy seamless processing of their documents via online real time data sharing between the NIID and the Single Window Trade portal of the Federal Government of Nigeria,” she said.

She maintained that as part of its engagements, the Association was invited to make a presentation on the NIID at the National Conference of Directors/Chief Road Traffic Officers of the Federation, themed, “Employing Technology to enhance Compliance and Safety on our Roads: Insurance Industry Collaboration with Road Traffic Officers of the Federation.”

To strengthen the alliance between the parties, she said the national body requested for the implementation of the system in all the 36 states including the FCT, stressing that the Association will continue to partner with relevant government agencies on the adoption of the NIID.