Insurance experts have urged stakeholders in the industry to practise sustainable insurance, saying that this is the future of the risk business.

The experts spoke at the maiden edition of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria’s programme tagged, ‘Insurance industry parley’.

The event, which was themed, ‘Sustainable insurance – issues and trends’, was attended by people from different sectors of the industry comprising the regulator, insurers, brokers and loss adjusters.

Speaking on the regulator’s technical perspective, the Head IT Department, National Insurance Commission, Mr Abiodun Aribike, said NAICOM was using information technology to drive sustainable insurance in Nigeria.

He said NAICOM, in partnership with the Financial Sector Deeping Africa Africa, recently launched the Risk, Resilience and Regulatory Laboratory in Lagos to ensure this purpose was achieved.

Aribike added that the initiative was aimed at mitigating the impact of specific challenges bedevilling the insurance regulatory environment in Nigeria as well as exploring ways in which collaboration, technology and insurance supervisory capacity-building could improve the regulatory effectiveness of Africa’s insurance industry.

“The R3Lab offers a three-tiered approach towards building the technical capacity and skills of the regulator on innovation and sustainable insurance,” he said.

The President, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria, Dr. Muftau Oyegunle, said the event was a new programme by CIIN, focused on giving back to its members and the insurance community in general.

He said, “The objective of this programme, among other things, is to bring all stakeholders from the different arms of the insurance industry together, to discuss the business environment and how it affects the operations of the sector as well as charting the way forward for insurance to thrive in the country.

“The theme of this maiden edition which is ‘Sustainable insurance – Issues and trends’, is indeed very apt and strategic considering the era we are in.”

The Managing Director, Old Mutual Life Assurance Limited, Mr Olusegun Omosehin, who was also the chairman of the occasion, said collaborations and innovation were critical for sustainability.

“Opportunities are before us as underwriters so we need to transition into green insurance so we can sustain the businesses and future of insurance in Nigeria,” he said.