A maritime insurance practitioner, Mr. Gbolahan Adu, says the marine insurance sector could create a wide array of job for Nigerians, if backed by a proper policy.
Adu stated that in an interview on Tuesday in Lagos.
He said that it was only government policy that would encourage the International Oil Companies (IOCs) to patronise their services under the local content drive.
The marine insurer said the IOCs, under the guise of required standard of capacity bypass local insurance service providers thereby limiting jobs that would have been for Nigerians.
“Most of the time, people just shout we do not have the capacity.
“How can we have capacity when all the IOCs are giving insurance to their own mother companies abroad?
“They are not helping us because we need to grow capacity and it is only when we are being engaged that capacity can be developed with a properly-implemented policy,” he said.
Adu also noted that Nigeria was losing revenue by allowing Free on Board (FOB) in its vessels, that is, goods on which duties would not be paid.
He said considerations should be given to ensure that cargo on board was done on Cost Insurance Freight to help the insurance industry to grow and become stronger.
Adu advised operators in maritime industry to always engage the services of registered insurance practitioners by not getting forged insurance certificates for their cargo clearance.
“Most of the time, the certificates done are fake, but right now, the Nigerian Insurance Association (NIA) is working on that just like they did with vehicles.
“Immediately they are done with that, any certificate that is issued anywhere in Nigeria can be verified easily through codes and they do not have to charge you.
“Operators must know that insurance is an investment, not just a document that they need,” he said.
Adu added that the operators’ understanding of such insurance as an investment would enable them to do the right thing knowing it would serve as backup should there be problems.
