Fashola tasks stakeholders on insurance awareness, penetration

From Ngozi Onyeakusi, Lagos

The Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola, has called on the relevant stakeholders to collaborate with the insurance industry to increase awareness that will drive insurance penetration and acceptance in the country.

Fashola made the call at the maiden public lecture organized by the journalists covering insurance and pension across the country under their umbrella body, the National Association of Insurance

Correspondents (NAICO), in conjunction with Lagos State Government, held yesterday in Lagos.

According to him such partnership will increase awareness of insurance, thereby, enlightening the people on the need to have a cover to guide against unforeseen future disaster.

Fashola, who was represented by Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Mr. Ben Akabueze, noted that, insurance operators, media as well as the government all have their respective roles to play in deepening insurance penetration, noting that, calling on each of these stakeholders to play their roles effectively.

This, according to him, will ensure that people begin to realize insurance cover as a risk management tool that cannot be avoided, saying, the problem of insurance lies in awareness that needed to be improved upon.

Saying that the State government would continue to do what is best for its citizenry, in term of welfare, he noted that it was in recognition of this, that the state government passed the bill on compulsory insurances into law, thus, becoming the first state to do so.

According to him, “To ensure that more people embrace insurance, the insurance industry needs to do more on awareness. Trust must be done in utmost good faith, to have enough disclosure and transparency in insurance contractual agreement.”

While speaking on the Third-Party Motor Insurance, he said all the vehicles of the state government were all insured, in a bid to demonstrate to Lagosians on the importance of motor insurance, especially, third-party to road users.

Fashola, who stated that Lagos State government fully subscribes to the new Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), in 2007, noted that the government has invested billions of naira to pay retirees, regularly and on a monthly basis.

“The State government has invested billions of naira to ensure that retirees get their benefits from their pension providers from time to time,” he said.