National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has granted the approval-in-principle license to Consolidated Hallmark Insurance Plc to operate its new micro life assurance subsidiary, CHI Micro Insurance Limited.
This was disclosed in a statement issued by the company’s Chairman, Obinna Ekezie. The development came after the company’s extraordinary general meeting with shareholders which was held to approve a capital raise for the company in Lagos.
According to Ekezie, the microinsurance subsidiary of Consolidated Hallmark would commence operations in the first quarter of 2020.
“The CHI Micro insurance Limited is on the verge of being granted an operational licence by NAICOM, after having met all the regulatory requirements and paid the statutory deposit to the Central Bank of Nigeria,” he stated.
Having been granted the approval-in-principle license, CHI Micro Insurance Limited can now go ahead to start operations. The firm said the approval was considered a demonstration of confidence by NAICOM in the capacity of CHI Plc to successfully operate a micro life assurance business, having successfully delivered on its general insurance business line.
About Microinsurance: Microinsurance is the protection of low-income people (those living on between approximately $1 and $4 per day) against specific perils in exchange for regular premium payment proportionate to the likelihood and cost of the risks involved.
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One can also interprete it as the insurance that enables low-income earners, mostly in the developing world, to avoid the debt traps that often affect their livelihoods and even their lives.
About NAICOM: The National Insurance Commission was established by the National Insurance Commission Act No 1 of 1997 to ensure the effective administration, supervision and regulation of insurance business in Nigeria as well as regulate transactions between insurers and reinsurers within and outside Nigeria.