Some aggrieved Nigerians have expressed their dissatisfaction with some insurance firms in the country over their inability to pay claims after several years of contribution, calling on the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) to take up the matter.
One of the aggrieved Nigerians, Mack Ogbamosa, said he invested in an Income Protection Policy (IPP) with Standard Alliance Plc in 2009. By March 2017, he had paid N3,321,075.
He said the company’s marketer advised that he should take a loan of N2m using his policy as collateral at 15 per cent interest.
After liquidating the loan, his account officer, Lola Fajobi, advised him to write for the termination of the policy in 2019. He signed the discharge voucher of N1,436,790.64 kobo in the presence of Fajobi on April 5, 2019.
“For more than two years now I have been fighting to get my money from the company,” he said.
Investigation revealed that Standard Alliance has not held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) for two years. Also, its account has been hidden from the public since 2018.
The company’s independent auditor, BDO Professional Services, in its report signed by Olugbemiga A. Akibayo on August 7, 2018, admitted its liquidity challenge.
The report acknowledged that the company was not able to generate adequate liquid assets to cover the policyholders’ funds.
For IGI, investigation revealed that it has been recording a poor performance in the insurance market as the company failed to submit its financial results to the regulatory authorities as and when due since 2012. Also, the company has not paid its staff for some time now.
The Commissioner for Insurance, Mr. Sunday Thomas, said he is deeply pained by the inability of the companies to pay claims to the aggrieved policyholders.
