Investment decisions and risk assessments the case of National Insurance Corporation (NIC)

This study dealt with the present principles, methods and techniques that are useful in securing rational answers in investment decisions and risk assessment at National Insurance Corporation (NIC). NIC being a dominant insurance company in Tanzania cannot escape making investment decisions and risk assessments. NIC collects premium from different groups (government, business and individuals), and use these funds for investments and other activities. The risk that is associated with the investment of these funds should be identified because undiscovered risk would remain unmanaged and thus organization will unconsciously retain these risks, which may be undesirable. The research problem rested on finding how NIC makes investment decisions to commensurate with the risk of investments. The objective thus centers on understanding the present methods, which are used by NIC for investment decision and risk assessments by matching maturity between investments and customers' claims. Furthermore the study has assessed the various methods used by NIC to identify and analyze the risk of investment together with the appraising techniques used by NIC. The study was designed as a case study and n1ade use of both primary and secondary data. Forty (40) questionnaires were distributed to different respondents (i.e. Branch Managers, Supervisors, Top and Middle Managers). The study established that the procedures currently used by NIC omit some important stages an anomaly, which could cost the company when it finds that the project under study is not viable. The general findings of the study shows that the whole question of investment decisions and risk assessment is not clearly known by the key staffs who are supposed to be involved in the investment decisions.