The increasing demand for insurance claims by widows and dependants of slain police and other paramilitary officers in terrorist attacks in the country has led to a significant rise in the claims profile of life underwriters.
Investigations revealed that many of the life underwriters, who were responsible for insuring the security operatives, had been confronted by heavy claims, mostly as a result of deaths and injuries inflicted by the Boko Haram sect.
While the insurance firms have affirmed their commitment to settling the rising claims, they are, however, considering raising premiums paid yearly on these categories of workers.
For instance, death claims paid by Mutual Benefits Life Assurance Limited, a member of the Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc, rose from N81.2m in 2010 to N213.3m in 2011 and N451.96m in 2012. By the first quarter of 2013, it had paid N687.9m as claims.
AIICO Insurance Plc also paid N1bn as death claims from its group life insurance in 2011, while in 2012, total claims from life portfolio rose to N4.003bn.
Niger Insurance Plc also recorded a rise in claims payment to dependants of deceased life policyholders from N241.7m in 2011 to N1.06bn in 2012, and by the first quarter of 2013, the firm had paid N192.7m.
Aside from attacks by armed robbers on police officers, the Boko Haram insurgency has led to the death of many security operatives.
Early this month, suspected members of Boko Haram attacked Bama in Borno State and caused the death of 55 people, including 22 police officers, 14 officers of the Nigerian Prison Service and two soldiers.
Several others were killed and injured in January during the multiple explosions and suicide bomb attacks on police stations and other security establishments in Kano.
The Managing Director, African Alliance Insurance Plc, Mr. Alphonse Okpor, whose company engages in life underwriting, said insurance firms were recording huge claims from the police portfolio.
According to him, the police have two types of insurance policies namely: group life assurance and personal accident insurance.
While the group life pays claims to dependants when a police officer dies, the personal accident caters for injuries if he does not die in the course of duty.
Due to the increase in casualties and injuries suffered by the Police and other security agencies, Okpor said that there was the need to increase the insurance package for the operatives.
“As far as the Police are concerned, the claims emanating from them have increased, whether from insurgents or attacks from armed robbers,” he said.
The Group Executive Director, Marketing and Sales, Royal Exchange Plc, Mr. Auwalu Muktari, said increase in claims was not a reason for insurers to fret.
According to him, the essence of the existence of insurance firms is to pay claims, and as such, they must continue to respond to claims as they arise.
The President, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria, Dr. Wole Adetimehin, said the Federal Government should support the firms with an intervention fund in order to be able to commence the underwriting of terrorism insurance in the country.
“We have called on the government to come up with a sort of intervention fund that will provide relief to insurance companies that will be willing to underwrite terrorism insurance risk,” he said.