Stakeholders task FG on policy framework for insurance, pension growth

By Joy Baba-Yesufu

Stakeholders in the finance services sector have called on the Federal Government to put in place, enabling policies to grow insurance and pension.
The experts who converged at the eighth yearly national conference of the Nigerian Association of Insurance and Pension Editors (NAIPE), held in Lagos, urged the current administration to create policies that would support the survival of both sectors to sustain their continued contributions to economic development.
Managing Director of APT Securities and Funds Limited, Kasim Garba Kurfi, said the insurance and pension sectors are the engine of growth of the economy, maintaining that the roles played by the two industries in sustaining economic growth left no one in doubt that they can drive national economic development.
He stressed the need for the operators to adopt more creative ways in their business approach, product development and service delivery.
Kurfi, while highlighting the impacts of the two sectors on the national economy said: “There are over N2.5 trillion assets managed by the insurance institution in Nigeria as of 31st December 2022, while there are over N16.6 trillion assets managed by the pension fund administrators (PFAs) as of 31st December 2022. The combination of the two institutions has a total asset of over N19 trillion. The role played by the two sectors in sustaining our economic growth left no one in doubt that they are instruments for economic development.
“Over N726 billion in premiums paid in 2022 according to the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), while the industry also paid over N318.1 billion in claims to its customers within the same period. This is a remarkable achievement in comparison with 3.5 per cent growth of gross domestic product (GDP).”