MANAGING ETHICS IN THE NIGERIA INSURANCE INDUSTRY  

Ethics are a set of moral standards that you rely on to reach conclusions and make decisions. In a competitive business environment like the Nigeria Insurance industry, ethics are a key factor in responsible decision making. Maintaining a high ethical standpoint when operating your business can provide benefits to both the internal and external stakeholders of your business.

In business you should aim to change your employee's attitude from simply looking at making short term profits to working towards sustainable objectives. You need to make them aware of business sustainability issues and how their decisions and attitude in terms of ethical compliance can have an impact on the overall success of the business in the long term. Poor ethical decisions that are not in line with the business' mission can have a lasting and negative impact on your success.

There are many ethical issues that can arise in the course of operating a business. A comprehensive understanding of the different types of ethical issues will help you to identify and handle these situations responsibly to maintain your core business values. You may need to make ethical decisions in regards to:

·         Employee rights (such as  working conditions)

·         HR management (hiring, dismissal, etc)

·         Conflicts of interest

·         Appropriate use of business resources

·         Reporting and transparency

·         Business impact on society (tobacco companies, etc)

As serious underwriters, you need to make your own decisions as regards ethical standards and moral values that you should maintain in your business. These must be adequately communicated to your team. By following a carefully and thoroughly thought out set of business principles, you give yourself the best opportunity for achieving sustainable business success.