GENERAL DRESS GUIDELINES AND TIPS:

1)    Clothing and accessories should be neat, smart and subtle. This also applies to hairstyle and perfume. Do not let the interviewer be sidetracked by showy apparel. They should be paying attention to your answers to their questions.

2)    Hairstyles should be chosen to be well-groomed and tidy. Don’t use a style that allows hair to hang in front of your face as the constant brushing away motions can be distracting.

3)    Any visible piercings should be removed, including tongue piercings. 

4)    Cover any tattoos either with clothing or with concealer makeup.

5)    Clothing should be laundered and ironed. Always make sure that it fits properly and that adjustments are not needed when sitting, walking or leaning over.

6)    Research clothing suitable for business environments and request feedback from people who have some authority to comment on such styles.

7)      For the first week or two, observe what other employees generally wear to get an overall impression of the dress code. Watch out for some who may tend to ignore the dress code though. If in doubt, use simple but stylish pieces.

NAICOM – (NATIONAL INSURANCE COMMISION)

OUR STORY:

The first major step at regulating the activities of Insurance business in Nigeria was the report of J.C. Obande Commission of 1961, which resulted in the establishment of Department of Insurance in the Federal Ministry of Trade and which was later transferred to the Ministry of Finance. The report also led to the enactment of Insurance Companies Act 1961, which came into effect on 4th May 1967.

The 1961 Act focused mainly on the activities of direct Insurers, made provisions for Registration and Record keeping. In 1968, Insurance Companies regulations was put in place to facilitate the implementation of Act No 58 of 1961 which then classified Insurance business into different classes for registration purpose and relevant forms for record keeping.

Insurance Decree No 59 of 1976 was enacted putting together the provisions of the various laws. The 1976 Decree among others made the following provision; Condition for authorisation of Insurers, Mode of operation, Amalgamation and Transfer, Administration and Enforcement, Penalties.

The Insurance Decree No 59 of 1976 constituted the first All-embracing Law for the regulation and Supervision of Insurance business in Nigeria.

In 1968, concern was given to life Insurance business and it led to the enactment of Decree 40 of 1988 which made provisions among others for Assignment of Life Insurance Policy, named beneficiary on Life insurance policy document.

The Federal Government of Nigeria promulgated the Insurance Special Supervisory Fund (ISSF) decree 20 of 1989 to strengthen the manpower need of the Insurance Supervisory Board. That decree mandated all insurance companies to contribute 1% of their gross earning to the Fund.

Decree No 58 of 1991 was enacted improving provisions of Decree No 58 of 1979 and No 40 of 1988. The major highlights of 1991 Decree include; Increased paid-up share capital of insurers and Re-insurers in respect of non-life business and life business respectively, compulsory membership of trade associations; management of security fund by NIA; Practice of no-premium, no-cover.

In 1992, the Insurance Special Supervision Fund decree No 62 was enacted, establishing a body known as National Insurance Supervisory Board, bringing out Insurance supervision outside core civil service, changing designation of Chief Executive from Director of Insurance to Commissioner for Insurance and setting up the Board of Directors to oversee the affairs of the established Body. All this provisions were made to attract high level manpower. The provision of Decree No 62 of 1992 and 58 of 1991 were reviewed for effective supervision and efficient Insurance market, bringing into enactment Decree Numbers 1 & 2 of 1997, National Insurance Commission and Insurance Decree respectively.

The following provisions were made in reviewing decree No 62 of 1992, decree No 1 of 1997; change of name from National Insurance Supervisory Board to National Insurance Commission, Establishment of Governing Board, Staffing, Source and application of funds, control and management of failed and failing Insurance companies, supervisory functions and powers.

Decree No 58 of 1991 was improved on with decree No 2 of 1997 in the following areas; by raising the paid up share capital for different categories of Insurance companies, qualification of Chief Executive, Insurance of Government properties and so on.

FUNCTIONS:

Objects, Functions and Powers of the Commission: 

The principal object of the Commission is to ensure the effective administration, supervision, regulation and control of insurance business in Nigeria.

The functions of the Commission include the following:

a. Establish standards for the conduct of insurance business in Nigeria; 

b. Approve rates of insurance premiums to be paid in respect of all classes of insurance business; 

c. Approve rates of commissions to be paid in respect of all classes of insurance business; 

d. Ensure adequate protection of strategic Government assets and other properties; 

e. Regulate transactions between insurers and reinsurers in Nigeria and those outside Nigeria; 

f. Act as adviser to the Federal Government on all insurance related matters; 

g. Approve standards, conditions and warranties applicable to all classes of insurance business; 

h. Protect insurance policy- holders and beneficiaries and third parties to insurance contracts; 

i. Publish, for sale and distribution to the public, annual reports and statistics on the insurance industry; 

j. Liaise with and advise Federal Ministries, Extra Ministerial Departments, statutory bodies and other Government agencies on all matters relating to insurance contained in any technical agreements to which Nigeria is a signatory; 

k. Contribute to the educational programmes of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria and the West African Insurance Institute; and 

l. Carry out such other activities connected or incidental to its other functions under this Decree. 

THE COMMISSION IS ALSO EMPOWERED TO: 

a. Establish a Bureau to which complaints, against any insurer, reinsurer, insurance broker or loss adjuster (in this Decree referred to as "insurance institution") may be submitted by members of the public; 

b. Requests or call for information from Federal Ministries, Extra-Ministerial Departments, statutory bodies and other Government agencies on matters relating to insurance; 

c. Borrow such sums of money as the Commission may, from time to time, require for performing its functions under this Decree; and

d. Acquire offices and other premises for the use of the Commission.

 

VISION:

“To be among the leading Regulators of the Insurance sector in the emerging markets.”

MISSION:

“Effective supervision of the Nigerian Insurance Industry for the attainment of a high ethical standard needed to position the Industry as a leading market in the global economy.”

CORE VALUES:

“Transparency, Integrity, Efficiency.”

Source: NAICOM Website

INSURANCE POLICY

INSURANCE POLICY 

Before we carefully discuss the meaning of insurance policy and the important parts of an insurance contract. It is very important to talk about the two major characters that play the most active part in an insurance policy;

INSURER: determines the claims which the insurer is legally required to pay the insured.

INSURED: is referred to as the policyholder. He pays the insurer an initial amount of money to partially or totally cover a particular loss in the events it occurs or the event refuses to occur.

INSURANCE POLICY is a contract between the insurer and the insured (the policyholder), in exchange for an initial payment, known as the PREMIUM.

The insurer pays for loss caused by damages covered under the policy contract. The insurer will pay the insured (the person whom benefits would be paid on behalf of), if certain defined events occur. The event must be uncertain. The uncertainty can be either as to when the event will happen (e.g. in a life insurance policy, the time of the insured's death is uncertain) or as to if it will happen at all (e.g. in a fire insurance policy, whether or not a fire will occur at all).

PARTS OF AN INSURANCE CONTRACT

POLICY JACKETS:

A policy jacket is a cover, binder, envelope, or folder with pockets in which the policy may be delivered. 

DEFINITIONS:

Define important terms used in the policy language.

DECLARATIONS:

These are usually provided on a form that is filled out by the insurer based on the insured's application and attached on top of or inserted within the first few pages of the standard policy form. The form contains the following.

(i)                Identifies who is an insured.

(ii)             The insured's address.

(iii)           The insuring company.

(iv)           What risks or property is covered.

(v)             The policy limits (amount of insurance).

(vi)           Any applicable deductibles.

(vii)        The policy period and premium amount.

INSURING AGREEMENT:

(i)                Describes the covered perils, risks assumed, nature of coverage, makes some reference to the contractual agreement between insurer and insured.

(ii)             It summarizes the major promises of the insurance company, as well as stating what is covered.

EXCLUSIONS:

It is important to take coverage away from the Insuring Agreement by describing property, perils, hazards or losses arising from specific causes which are not covered by the policy.

CONDITIONS:

Provisions, rules of conduct, duties and obligations required for coverage must be clearly stated in the policy. If policy conditions are not met, the insurer can deny the claim.

ENDORSEMENTS:

This an additional form(s) attached to the policy form that modify it in some way, either unconditionally or upon the existence of some condition.

Endorsements can make policies difficult to read for non-lawyers; they may modify or delete clauses located several pages earlier in the standard insuring agreement, or even modify each other.

It is very risky to allow non-lawyer underwriters to directly rewrite core policy language with word processors, insurers usually direct underwriters to modify standard forms by attaching endorsements preapproved by counsel for various common modifications.

POLICY RIDERS:

A policy rider is used to convey the terms of a policy amendment and the amendment thereby becomes part of the policy.

Riders are dated and numbered so that both insurer and policyholder can determine provisions and the benefit level.

A common rider to group medical plans involves:

(i)                Name changes.

(ii)             Change to eligible classes of employees.

(iii)           Change in level of benefits or the addition of a managed care HMOs.

WHAT IS INSURANCE?

When people facing a common risk pool their resources, they create an accumulation of funds from which individual losses can be paid. Such an arrangement transfers risk from the individual to the group because the group shares the cost of the risk among all of its members.

Insurance can be said to be a device for transferring specified risks of individual persons to an insurer. The insurer agrees, for consideration (usually payment of a premium), to assume, to a specified extent, certain losses that may be suffered by the insured.

Insurance can also be referred to as a system to make large financial losses more affordable by pooling the risks of many individuals and business entities and transferring them to an insurance company or other large group in return for a premium. Insurance is a business that guarantees the existence of other businesses in every economy because they cover all their losses.

CHARACTERISTICS OF AN INSURANCE TRANSACTION:

• Pooling of resources;

• Accumulation of funds;

• Distribution of funds to those who have losses;

• Transfer of risk from one person to the group; and

• Spread of risk amongst all members of the group.

BENEFITS OF INSURANCE:

Insurance provides protection by reimbursing people when their

property is damaged or they suffer some other loss. Insurance helps individuals and business owners resume their normal standard of living and operations.

1.    PAYMENT OF LOSSES:

The proceeds of an insurance policy benefit everyone by restoring the insured person or organization to the same financial condition as before the loss and preventing the loss from rippling out and affecting others negatively.

2.    ECONOMIC GROWTH:

The insurance industry plays an important role in the nation's economy. It is second only to the commercial banking industry as a source of investment funds because insurance companies invest the billions of the premium dollars they receive annually in a wide range of investments.

Insurance companies use premiums collected from policyholders to

• pay for claims;

• pay for cost of doing business; and

• build cash reserves for future loss payments.

Cash reserves are invested in federal and municipal bonds that are used to build roads, schools and utilities. Reserves are also invested in commercial developments and the stock market. These investments promote economic growth in communities and support the insurance company’s requirement of maintaining sufficient capital reserves to pay future losses and earn a profit.

3.   LOSS PREVENTION:

Insurance also benefits society by encouraging activities and devices that reduce the amount of losses and their economic impact.

Seat belts and other passive restraints in automobiles significantly reduce the extent of injuries suffered by vehicle occupants involved in

auto accidents. Insurance companies were a major force behind requiring seat belts as standard equipment in all vehicles.

4.   CREDIT SUPPORT:

Banks and credit institutions rely on insurance to make sure they can recover loans if disaster occurs. Insurance allows borrowers to guarantee creditors that their investment is protected against disasters.

Insurance protects:

• The value of property from unforeseen disasters; and

• A client's ability to pay back loans if illness or premature death occurs.

5.   PEACE OF MIND:

It gives the insured rest of mind in case of any losses. (Natural or unnatural).

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CHINA AND INSURANCE

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CHINA AND INSURANCE

The history of insurance industry could be traced to the Chinese. The earliest form of insurance occurred when wealthy Chinese merchants along the Yangtze River decided that it was too risky to place all their merchandise on a single vessel and sail it down the river. To reduce their risks, they split the shipment into smaller portions and placed them on several boats.

They knew that it was unlikely:

(i). All the vessels would sink or suffer damage.

(ii). If one did sink, the majority of the cargo would reach its     destination safely. 

Although this arrangement was not formally called insurance, it was the forerunner of the modern insurance company, which also recognizes the importance of spreading risk.

(Lloyd's of London):

The more formalized insurance arrangements we are familiar with today actually began at a coffeehouse owned by Edward Lloyd near London. In the late 1600s, wealthy merchants gathered at the coffeehouse to discuss their latest ventures, which often involved overseas shipments, increasingly to the new world. Concerned that they could be devastated financially if an entire shipment was lost, merchants began to make arrangements with each other to share their risks of loss.

When a shipment was scheduled to depart, the owner posted a notice with a complete description of the cargo and vessel at the coffeehouse. Other merchants looked at the description and signed their names beneath with a percentage of the cargo they were willing to pay for if the vessel were lost. When 100 percent of the cargo was insured in this manner, the vessel sailed.

These early merchants became known as UNDERWRITERS. If the voyage was successful, each underwriter received a bonus, or premium. If, however, the vessel did not reach its destination, the underwriters made good the loss to the shipper. This, of course, was the beginning of Lloyd's of London, an institution that has continued to operate in much the same way for more than 400 years.

Lloyd's remains a major participant in the worldwide insurance industry. Lloyd's of London is not an insurance company that sells policies. It is a group of private insurers that underwrite risks they feel are good business proposals submitted to them from customer groups.

WORKPLACE ETIQUETTE: MIND YOUR MANNERS PLEASE

Workplace Etiquette: Mind Your Manners Please
  
We all know that the essence of good manners and etiquette is to be respectful and courteous to all – all the time. But what about in the workplace, what’s expected of us? When it comes to workplace etiquette, there are written and unwritten rules. The written rules are often found in policy manuals and guidebooks. But not so for the unwritten rules, which may take some figuring out. We can observe the behaviours of senior level managers for clues, but oftentimes, the unwritten rules for workplace etiquette boils down to commonsense.

 

Mind Your Manners Please:

Take responsibility: If you make a mistake on a critical project, immediately take responsibility, do not blame others, or make excuses. If you realize that you are in the wrong, apologize and move on.

Respect other people’s space and property: Because people may work in cubicles doesn’t mean that they do not have the right to privacy. Do not enter another person’s space unless invited to do so, or use their properties without express permission.

Monitor the level of your conversations: Privacy is sometimes very difficult to find in today’s workplace, so check the level of your conversations to ensure you are not disturbing other coworkers.

Minimize personal communications: Keep personal emails and telephone conversations to a minimum on work time.

Dress appropriately: Tank tops, leggings and flip flops aren’t appropriate in a corporate setting, even on casual Fridays. Dress professionally, and dress for the position that you are aspiring for. Make sure your clothing is comfortable and the proper fit. If you can afford to do so, hire an image consultant to help to coordinate your wardrobe and choose the colors that are appropriate for your skin tone.

Listen first, respond second: When someone is speaking, listen to what they have to say then respond. If you are not clear about what they have said, ask for clarification.

Customers are gold: When speaking to customers (or anyone for that matter) on the telephone, give them your undivided attention. Do not multitask, they will sense it. If a customer pops into the office, do not view them as an interruption, treat them with respect and demonstrate that you value their business.

Manners extend to the kitchen: If you didn’t place it in the fridge, then do not eat it. If you place something in the fridge, eat it or throw it out, unless you brought it in to share. In that case, let others know that.

If corporations wrote policy handbooks to include every possible rule in the workplace, no one would be able to lift that handbook much less read it through. Always think commonsense when it comes to workplace etiquette and remember to say, “please,” “thank you!” and “you’re welcome!”