Cynthia Ezekwe
In the face of an increasingly volatile climate, International Energy Insurance (IEI) Plc, a cornerstone of Norrenberger Group, has issued a rallying cry to insurers, urging them to reshape their businesses, product offerings, and risk management practices to better equip themselves to confront the rising risks posed by a rapidly changing planet.
Speaking on the sideline of the 50th conference and annual general assembly of the African Insurance Organisation (AIO), tagged, “Coping With Rising Natural Catastrophes In Africa” the group noted that the consequences of climate change are far-reaching and devastating.
The group, maintaining that insurers have a critical role to play in helping communities adapt to climate change, implored insurers to reimagine their business models, weaving climate risk into the very fabric of their operations, not just as an afterthought, but as a core tenet of their strategy.
According to Tony Ede, group managing director, Norrenberger Group, global natural disasters are taking place repeatedly resulting in the world losing $380 billion in 2023, with losses emanating from insurance at about $118 billion.
Ede stressed that natural disasters and climate change have come to stay, hence the need for insurance companies to rethink their models so as to withstand changes in the global economy.
On his part, Olasupo Sogelola, the managing director/CEO, International Energy Insurance (IEI) Plc, stressed the need for insurance to move towards supporting climate change, starting from the impact of climate change especially on agricultural products in Nigeria, noting that IEI is coming up with products that would enhance and support climate change in all ramifications.
“So, insurance has to move now, starting from the impact of climate change even on agricultural products in Nigeria. Agric insurance is something that has to respond quickly at the moment along with other classes of insurance.
“For us at IEI, we are coming up with products that would enhance and support climate change in all ramifications. We have two important goals at IEI. The first is about our value proposition to the system which is to pay claims as quickly as possible. The second is about product creation,’’ Sogelola noted.
Sogelola also pressed the need to incentivise property owners to embrace energy efficiency.
“We have to start giving discounts such that when we are quoting for a fire policy, we give a discount because the policyholder has a solar panel,’’ he added.
Speaking on climate change funding issues, Queen Ehi-Uujamhan, the chief finance officer (CFO), Norrenberger Group, stated that funding for climate change is something that the multilaterals, individuals, government and the private sector have to look at from a holistic point of view.
“Currently, we have multilaterals like the African Development Bank providing grants. I think the very prudential thing for the government and others to do is to provide funding to areas that are prone to disasters. They need to make funds available for renewable energy and irrigation to militate against drought,’’ Ehi-Uujamhan said.
The Norrenberger Group CFO stressed the need for insurers to play a critical role in reducing the financial impacts of climate-related disasters, while urging them to adopt strategies that will mitigate climate-related risks.
