ISAN sets up marine insurance group

The Indigenous Ship owners’ Association of Nigeria (ISAN) last week inaugurated its marine insurance group with a mandate to offer professional advice to the association on all marine insurance issues within and outside the country.
The marine insurance group is made up largely of insurance practitioners and members of the group are drawn from top insurance companies in the country. The chairman of the group is Mr. Nimbe Oviosu, managing director of Crusader General Insurance limited
Inaugurating the group in Lagos last week, the chairman of ISAN, Chief Isaac Jolapamo seized the opportunity of the occasion to reiterate the importance of the new group to the activities of ISAN, saying that “ISAN took off seven years ago and since then we have been able to set up branches in Warri and Pot Harcourt, the expectation from your group is to raise the standard of operation on insurances matters, we will begin to raise the bar from now on” he added.
Jolapamo also revealed that the association is starting a Protection and Indemnity (P and I) scheme throughout Africa, adding that the scheme will be taking off before the second quarter of year 2010. He assured that the scheme will be an avenue for the group to exploit more business opportunities.
Also speaking at the occasion, secretary general of ISAN, Captain Niyi Labinjo charged the group to use their position to bring in other indigenous ship owners who are not yet members of the association. Labinjo said that since the registration and re-registration of vessels which is carried out every five years is now based on insurance certificates among other requirement, members of ISAN will need the cooperation of the marine group.
Labinjo also charged the group to “develop a marine insurance sub-group of ISAN and ensure that the group encompasses marine insurance desks of all Nigerian insurance companies, you must hold meetings at least four times in a year, advice association executives on all marine insurance- related issues within and outside the country as well as offer members of the association marine services” he said.
Responding, the chairman of the group Mr. Nimbe Oviosu congratulated ISAN for setting up the group which is the first in the country and also advised the association to make sure it brings up to standard the level of the market in which they are operating, saying that not all vessels are worthy of being insured.