Underwriting firms appear to have seen the need to expand their market reach by introducing affordable insurance policies that can easily attract voluntary purchase and increase the percentage of policyholders from less than one to about 30, NIKE POPOOLA writes
When the enforcement of the compulsory insurance policies began through the Market Development and Restructuring Initiative, the percentage of policyholders in the country was put at a paltry 0.6 of the entire population.
Through the initiative, the industry plans to increase insurance participation to 30 per cent of the country’s total population.
One of the ways by which the regulatory arm of the sector, the National Insurance Commission, has encouraged the underwriting firms to focus on those at the grass roots is by urging them to be innovative with their products.
The commission, in its recent annual guidelines to the underwriters, exempted them from paying processing fees for approval to inaugurate new products.
As a result, more insurance firms are now coming up with new products at little premium and attracting more benefits to members of the public to appreciate the essence of taking up insurance covers.
They are also boosting their distribution channels to make the products more accessible to the people.
The Managing Director, African Alliance Insurance Plc, Mr. Alphonse Okpor, said there were different types of insurance policies that all classes of individuals could take because of their relevance.
For instance, he said that there were retail insurance products suitable for young men and those just starting a family.
While speaking on a life cover, Okpor said, “A young man’s first investment should be in life policy. For instance, if you are taking a life cover of N5m with premium of N1,000 every month, your immediate estate for the family in case you die is N5m.
“If the person doesn’t die, if he pays up to the period required, then the money will be paid back with interest. It is an investment with interest; so, it is very beneficial for everybody; it is not only for rich people.”
The Managing Director, Capital Express Assurance Limited, Mrs. Bola Odukale, said the firm was working on different products to solve people’s problems and increase insurance participation.
“Everybody at any point in time needs an insurance product that can meet a particular need, even if you are the richest person. It can be a product to meet your medical needs, or something that will allow you to give something back to the society,” she said.
For this reason, Odukale said the firm had an array of products to meet the needs of Nigerians, whether they were students, workers, retirees, married couples and others.
According to her, it is not only a person that has dependants that should take a life insurance policy because life insurance goes beyond death settlement.
Odukale said, “An individual can also decide to have a savings insurance policy so that in the next few years, he can start his project like building a house.
“He can also take a policy that will have an element of investment to build capital for him for a particular number of years, which will yield some profits over the years.”
The Group Managing Director, Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc, Mr. Akin Ogunbiyi, said to make insurance products available for all types of needs, the firm was developing 50 insurance policies.
“We are developing 50 new products alongside demographic, trade groups and risks peculiar to each segment in Nigeria. We have gone beyond the off the shelf products,” he said.
Ogunbiyi said the firm had developed an effective distribution channel that involved the use of partner agents, business membership organisations and insurance brokers, among others, to get the products to the grass roots.
The Managing Director, Royal Exchange General Insurance Company, Mr. Olutayo Borokini, said the firm was bringing insurance to the reach of many Nigerians through enhanced technology.
“Our systems are driven by technology; what that means is that we have different payment and collecting systems to enable policyholders to pay their premiums easily,” he said.
According to him, the firm has put in place a convenient system to enable agents to market insurance easily to the public.
“Presently, most of our products are on scratch cards apart from the real general business. Our insurance agents would have paid for the cards to collect and sell just as you sell GSM recharge cards, which can enable the policyholders to pay their premium,” Borokini added.
The managing director said the company had also introduced other payment systems on its portal to enable policyholders to pay with debit cards in view of the cash-less economy initiative.
To drive retail insurance, he said the firm was targeting increasing the number of its agents to 2,000 this year.
