As the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement gathers momentum, the Chair, Nigerian Insurance Industry Committee on AfCFTA, Mrs. Ekeoma Ezeibe, has declared that the trade arrangement will lead to increased demand for insurance.

Speaking at the maiden enlightenment workshop for insurance operators in Lagos, she said it was for this reason that the National Insurance Commission set up the Nigerian Insurance Industry Committee on African Continental Free Trade Area (NII-AfCFTA Committee), to, among other things, co-ordinate the Nigerian insurance industry’s strategic response to AfCFTA as well as liaise with the AfCFTA Secretariat and other bodies in the implementation of the agreement in the Nigerian insurance industry.

She said as AfCFTA eventually harmonised trade and investment regulations across member countries, it was critical that the insurance sector of Africa’s largest economy, Nigeria, began to contemplate some of the potential opportunities and challenges in a continent-wide insurance regulatory regime.

These, she said, included harmonisation of insurance regulations among state parties in order to achieve market confidence and growth and a regulatory balance that protects consumers; multilateralism and reciprocity; standardisation of practice; cross-boarder opportunities and risks; trade in services without barrier; Intracontinental movement of personnel, and creation of a single big market as against a near stagnant market.

According to her, “since the creation of the Committee, we have been liaising with the National Action Committee on AfCFTA, Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiations, organised enlightenment workshops for us, the members, in order to appreciate the work before us, attended so many national stakeholders consultative meetings on the five priority sectors under AfCFTA and workshops to consider offers from various state parties.