Assets base: NIA wants insurance firms focused on N16trn target

The Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) has urged insurance firms to remain focused in order to meet the sector’s N16 trillion asset base target by 2020.

The Director-General of NIA, Mr. Sunday Thomas, made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

Thomas said that meeting the target would require the industry promoting the retail insurance market segment and placing customer interest at the centre of their business plan and strategy.

He said that all insurance companies needed to review and tailor their products to suit the present day customers.

“I strongly condemn the trend whereby operators would focus much attention on corporate business while neglecting retail business.

“Purchasing corporate businesses impoverishes the industry,” he said.

Thomas said that if the industry operators were playing according to rules, in terms of premium charges, the industry would have hit the projected target in the past three years.

“Currently, the volume of business underwritten by the industry is N350 billion compared to N240 billion in 2014, with assets of N712 billion.

“Unhealthy competition has seen underwriters charging premium rate that is as low as one per cent while others charge 0.85 percent compared to the standard rate,’’ he said.

He also urged the insuring public to see insurance from the positive perspective and shift from the long-held opinion that insurers would not pay claims.

Thomas said that the negative perception of the industry, in addition to the activities of fake insurance operators, inhibited the growth of the industry.