Government appeals for adoption of life insurance
WITH various development initiatives in the country, Nigerians need to build up a solid financial plan for future through life insurance planning, the Federal Government has appealed. The Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, disclosed this at the third NAIPCO conference, with the theme: “The Role of Stake Holders in Developing Insurance and Pension Sectors.
The minister, who was represented by the Deputy Commissioner for Insurance, Finance and Administration, George Onekhena, said life insurance holds the key to wise financial planning and is panacea for poverty alleviation among Nigerians at all levels, including grassroots dwellers.
She urged Nigerians not to neglect life insurance, even as it is a common habit, noting that it is equal to building one’s foundation on a shallow ground. Adeosun stated that citizens should rather be making enquiries on a particular life insurance policy that would be beneficial, as well as how to go about it. She also said that those in doubt could engage the services of insurance brokers for professional advise, adding that this has become necessary because nobody knows the day of his death and it will be disastrous for anyone to leave dependents without benefits.
“Every Nigerian buys one house hold item or the other at any time and you don’t enter the market and start making your purchases.
“You make enquiries before going to market, in like manner, in your life insurance decisions, you can take time to ask questions on the life insurance policy you want to buy. Nobody knows the day of his death, so life insurance is critical, life insurance is foundation to every wise financial planning”, she stated. Speaking on the challenge facing insurance and pension operators in Nigeria, she said people hardly tell the public when they get benefit from these two sectors, citing instance of quantum of retirement benefits paid on monthly basis by Pension Fund Administrators (PFAS) to retirees and quantum of claims paid in yearly by insurance firms.
NAIPCO conference is the only forum that brings both pension and insurance operators, their regulators and stakeholders together to discuss their affairs.
The conference played a key role in settling the crisis that arose last year between the two sectors in annuity administration and management.
ROYAL Exchange Plc has reported a gross written premium of N12.8 billion from its business activities in the year ended December 31, 2017, compared to N12.5 billion in 2016.
The company said its net premium income for the 2017 financial year amounted to N7.1 billion, while underwriting profit amounted to N7.6 billion in the financial year under review.
The total assets of the group grew by five per cent from N31.7 billion in 2016, to N33.3 billion as of December 31, 2017.
AXA Mansard Plc has launched the First Responder Service, which aims to support customers whose vehicles are insured with the company whenever they are involved in road accident. The service is an initiative, meant to provide immediate assistance to customers on AXA Mansard’s retail motor insurance plan at the scene Contrastingly, net claims paid for the period under review dropped by four per cent to N3.4 billion from N3.6 billion in 2016, while net income before management expenses declined to N2.4 billion from the N2.7 billion that was generated in 2016. The Group Managing Director of the company, Alhaji Auwalu Muktari, said despite the very harsh operating environment, the group was able to grow its figures, by participating in large-ticket financial transactions, as well as playing in the retail insurance market, which he said would be a key of an accident. The service also aims to reduce turnaround time for service delivery to customers.
With the introduction of the new service, customers with vehicles worth a minimum of N3million will have access to trained First Responder Officers. The officers will provide on-the-spot assistance to eligible customers at the growth driver in the years ahead.
“Royal Exchange envisions a situation where the retail insurance market should be able to contribute between 50-60 per cent of our revenues in the future, as the retail market is the future of insurance in Nigeria, considering the population of the country,” he said. He noted that with the recent approval from the National Insurance Commission to undertake agricultural insurance, the company had entered into strategic alliances with various stakeholders in the sector to drive insurance. scene of an accident, access damage to customers’ vehicles and start the claims settlement process with a view to concluding it rapidly. The Divisional Director, Retail Solutions, AXA Mansard Insurance, Mrs. Rashidat Adebisi, said: “We are delighted to introduce AXA First Responder service to our motor insurance subscribers.”