Insurance companies which were denying policyholders genuine claims will be heavily sanctioned by the insurance industry regulator, says the commissioner for Insurance/CEO, the National Insurance Commission(NAICOM), Mr. Olusegun Omosehin.

Omosehin, while speaking at an Interactive Session with Journalists in Lagos at the weekend, noted that, the regulator doesn’t joke with unpaid claims, disclosing that most companies have been sanctioned in the past, however, NAICOM will increase punishment for this erring firms to discourage others from doing same.

While urging policyholders to approach the commission through its complaint bureau of any underwriter denies them genuine claims, he assured that, the commission will attend to their complaint in utmost good faith until the concerned insurers pay such claims.

He believes the best insurance awareness is the payment of genuine claims as this has a trickle down effects through referrals from those who have benefited from insurance claims, mandating underwriters to do everything possible to ensure claims are paid promptly or else they will face regulatory hammer, if reported.

Similarly, he vowed that his commission will go after managers of ailing insurance companies, until they vomit whatever they have taken from such underwriting firm and would be forced to revive the ailing company.

Failure to do so, he said, will mean that the managers would be blacklisted and barred from taking up positions in the insurance industry, adding that, his administration, in the past three months of assuming leadership at NAICOM, has been working hard to reposition the industry.

NAICOM, he noted, has been following statutory processes in handing ailing companies, stressing that, the commission is not interested in killing companies, but to ensure that they are revived to ensure protection of policyholders.“The mandates of my administration are to regulate; coordinate and develop, and the key focus are: Passion to prioritise consumers issues; strengthen NAICOM’s capacity to regulate; soundness of operators; innovation and accessibility/deepening penetration,” he pointed out.

Promising to always prioritise prompt claims payment as operators are now encouraged to pay genuine claims without any complaint, he maintained that the industry has to be positioned to meet the federal government’s ambition of achieve $1 trillion economy.

He solicited supports from all stakeholders to enable NAICOM accomplish the mandate of building a very strong and acceptable insurance industry.