Insurance Professionals Advocate New Skills To Tackle Emerging Risks

The experts, who spoke at the ongoing 2023 Insurance Professionals’ Forum in Abeokuta, Ogun State, yesterday, noted that, to navigate this ‘new normal’ that has come to stay, insurance industry must develop a wide range of new skill sets and orientation which enables adaptability and agility.

Delivering his keynote address at the event, the commissioner for insurance/CEO, the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Mr. Olorundare Sunday Thomas, urged the industry to adopt strategic foresight, continuous learning and development as well as effective communication and transparency, all of which, he said, require adjusting operating models and workflow processes in doing business today.

Disclosing that there has been an increased awareness of climate-related risks and their potentially devastating effects on society, he added that this has increased focus on the significance of Environmental, Social and Governance(ESG) factors in insurers’ underwriting business as well as in investment portfolios.

To him, “insurers in Nigeria control assets, many of which are held over the long term, subject the insurance sector to significant ESG risk. Regulatory requirements to enhance ESG disclosures and considerations, are gaining global popularity and key stakeholders, including major institutional investors, increasingly desirous of greater ESG accountability from insurers.”

To successfully compete in a new Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity(VUCA) environment, he charged insurers to develop a new set of tools and methods and appl