New ILAN President to Fight for Institute's Charter
By Nnamdi Duru
Institute of Loss Adjusters, the body of professional mediators in insurance claims-related disputes, has intensified its effort at getting relevant government agencies to grant it a charter status.
The President of the institute, Mr. Sammy Sotomi, made this disclosure in his acceptance speech at his investiture ceremony where he was decorated with the official regalia in Lagos recently.
He unveiled a three point agenda to be pursued by the institute under his leadership including completion of the secretariat complex, continuation with the institute's professional examinations and securing a charter for the institute.
"My predecessors had set various agenda for their tenures which they pursued vigorously to varying degrees of completion and by so doing have prepared very solid ground for my tenure. I have therefore chosen to have a three-in-one agenda arising from the projects they had started. the three items involved are completion of our secretariat building, commencement and sustenance of our professional examinations and securing the charter for our institute", Sotomi disclosed.
On the much sought after charter of the institute, Sotomi observed, "from information at our disposal, to seek and obtain a charter is a very expensive venture and yet, we must get there and it is only by your support and grace of God that we are hoping to get there".
He reassured those worried of a possible a collission between the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN) and ILAN over the charter being sought saying that Associateship of the former is a prerequisite for membership of the latter.
"Some outsiders have asked if we would not be having problems with CIIN in this regard..... Any person that wished to take our examinations must first be a member of CIIN. An ACII London or AIIN must be a professional member of CIIN.
"A holder of any other qualification wishing to sit our examination must apply to and obtain the appropriate level of membership of CIIN and you will recall that our examinations is at post graduate level. So when we seek charter with this in mind, we shall not offend any rule", he explained.
He expressed optimism that CIIN as well as the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) and other professional bodies in the insurance industry would support the institute's cause.
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