From Ngozi Onyeakusi, Lagos
The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) yesterday urged insurance operators across the country to come up with new ways of distributing insurance products to the over 160million Nigerians who were not insured in the country.
Speaking at the on-going Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN) annual education seminar held in Benin-City, the Edo State capital, the Commissioner for Insurance, Mr Fola Daniel noted that the industry was yet to contribute positively into the nation gross domestic product (GDP) due to its inability to reach the majority of the people in the grass root.
The commissioner, who was represented by the Deputy Director, Authorisation and Policy, Mr Leo Akah, stated that despite the high population growth in the country Nigeria insurance industry is still behind some smaller countries in Africa.
This he said, was because the insurance practitioners were not selling the right products to the right people, adding that, for the industry to tap into the opportunities that are available, there was need for
them to develop products that are relevant to the large population of Nigerians that are not covered by insurance.
He also urged them to device better methods of distribution of these products in order to meet the people, adding that the conventional insurance covers only the high income earners.
He further said that the greater number of Nigerian population at the grassroots can be reach through micro insurance and takaful insurance, adding that insurance brokers cannot reach these people, that was why it was necessary to employ the services of agents who have the ability to get to the grassroots.
He applauded the efforts of telecommunication companies in deepening insurance penetration to the grassroots, adding that available records at the commission shows that telecommunication companies have contributed through the sale of insurance via their mobile network.
He frown at the low penetration in the industry despite the six compulsory insurance introduced by the commission years ago, adding that this goes a long way to show that channel of distribution of these products was not suitable for the grassroots.
