The Board of Wapic Insurance Plc led by its Chairman, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, recently paid a courtesy call to the Commissioner of Insurance, Fola Daniel and his Management team at the NAICOM office Abuja.
The visit was part of the Company’s industry orientation programme for the new Board and served as a platform for the Board to convey the Company’s passion to serve as the flag bearer on regulatory compliance.
The delegation from Wapic was received by the Commissioner of Insurance in the company of Adamu Balanti, Barineka Thompson and Leonard Akah, all of who are Director-level officers of the Apex insurance body.
In the course of the deliberations, the Wapic team stated that the Company sees the business of Insurance as a critical contributor to the growth of the economy especially emerging markets such as Nigeria. Adding that the sector provides risk protection solutions which create stability for businesses to operate with a lower propensity for volatility or failure.
Similarly, the Chairman of the Company alluded to the fact that the industry ought to serve as a source of long term financing and compliment other domestic financial services to enhance infrastructure development and sustainable economic growth.
However, he attributed the industry’s underperformance to under-capitalization, deficiencies in technical capacity, poor compensation structure and lack of requisite human capital amongst others and stated that Wapic is repositioning itself to support the regulator’s goal to address these weaknesses.
In his remark, the Company’s acting MD Ashish Desai said that “The Nigerian insurance industry presents an opportunity for the emergence of operators who will dominate the African continent. In NAICOM, we see a proactive regulator who understands this potential and is positioning to steer the industry to transformative growth that will unlock the country’s opportunities. As a company, Wapic is well positioned to support NAICOM to achieve its objectives”
While receiving the Wapic team, Daniel, commended the Company for the significant changes it had successfully undergone in recent times and the vision of the new management. He promised that the Regulator will continue to support institutions that are committed to positive transformation for the industry and which adhere to good corporate practices such as Wapic.
Daniel profiled the huge potential of the Nigerian insurance industry adding that players in the Industry must strategically reposition themselves to harness the opportunity the country presents.
“Insurance penetration in Nigeria is still very low relative to other countries and currently stands at about 1 percent. Conversely, South African operators dominate insurance in Africa and have consistently out-performed all other African countries. Nonetheless, Nigeria represents a huge market which as yet remains untapped,” stated Daniel.
The Commissioner also pointed to the fact that significant shifts in consumer apathy will occur in the industry once service providers begin to offer “value which address needs and not just products”.
The visiting Board members from Wapic Insurance Plc included Bababode Osunkoya, an Independent Non-Executive Director who is an accomplished expert in financial accounting and a chartered accountant with over three decades of experience and Adamu Atta, a Non-Executive Director and an astute businessman with over two decades of experience in financial management and consulting.
Also present at the meeting was Ashish Desai, who was recently appointed as the Managing Director, Wapic Insurance Plc in an acting capacity pending regulatory approval.
Desai’s experience and qualifications speak volumes of his Managerial breadth and knowledge of insurance. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries (UK), the Actuarial Society of South Africa and Institute of Actuaries, India; and a first class graduate of Economics and Econometrics from Manchester University (UK) with over two decades experience as an actuary spanning leading insurance companies in the United Kingdom, South Africa and India.
Prior to his appointment, Desai was an Executive and Managing Director in a subsidiary of South Africa’s largest privately owned insurance group.
He is also an alumnus of the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania.
The Wapic delegation also included Niyi Onifade, the Managing Director of Wapic Life Assurance Limited – a seasoned expert in life assurance with nearly three decades of experience; Folusho Aliyu, the Company’s Executive Director, Technical, whose experience in insurance spans over two decades and Mary Agha, the Company Secretary and Legal Counsel.
Wapic Insurance Plc was incorporated in 1958 and is licensed to carry on general insurance business. Operating through a network of 6 branches located in major centres across Nigeria, the Company has two subsidiaries, namely – Wapic Life Assurance Limited and Wapic Insurance (Ghana) Limited.
Wapic is listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange and has over 850,000 shareholders as part of its continued growth strategy; Wapic Insurance is focused on mainstreaming sustainable business practices into its operations. The Company strives to deliver sustainable economic growth that is profitable, environmentally responsible and socially relevant.
