By Haruna Salami
President Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers, Dr. (Mrs) Bola Onigbogi has advocated for the exclusion of registered insurance brokers from bidding fees.
Mrs Onigbogi lamented that subjecting insurance brokers to bidding process was inappropriate, since insurance brokers are professionals and not contractors.
She made this known at the public hearing of Senate committee on procurement, seeking to amend Public Procurement Act (PPA) 2007 held in Abuja Tuesday.
“I want to reiterate that insurance brokers are professionals. We offer services to our clients. We are not contractors or business people, that is the reason we should be treated as such.
According to her, members of the profession “should not be asked to pay bidding fee because they also operate like doctors, lawyers, architects who are exempted from bidding process”.
She explained that insurance brokers are professionals, who offer essential service to clients in the area of technical expertise.
“We are working hard on creating awareness because over time we realize that insurance is always the last on the priority list of Nigerians.
“We are trying as much as possible to make Nigerians realize the importance of insurance through creating more awareness in that area. We want Nigerians to know that insurance is in place for other businesses to strive.
“If you look at the fire incidence around the states now, what you see is people putting their hands on their head calling government to come and help them, whereas if they had insurance, there will be no problem”.
She however counseled that it is important to do insurance through registered brokers to avoid problems claims.