Aiico’s annuity guarantees safe financial management…Ayeni

Insurance has been described as tool that helps people achieve their financial planning initiatives as well as attain a high degree efficient risk management and safety.

This was disclosed at a day’s training of capital market financial journalists by the American International Insurance Company (AIICO) Plc in Lagos, as Nigerians were urged to deploy insurance to attain life goals while in active employment, out of employment or even in death.

Head retail Sales, AIICO, Mr. Ayeni Taofek delivering a lecture on financial management, said that Nigeria’s economy has the potential to benefit from growth opportunities in the insurance sector, hence insurance penetration in the country still falls below 1 per cent.

He said that Aiico is continually repositioning to take advantage of the growth opportunities in the economy and the sector, deploying and upgrading its information technology and exploring new markets, products and diversified new clients.

He said that individuals should always think of safety irrespective of positive in life, adding that such security would always be guaranteed by one form of insurance policy or the other.

Ayeni said that safety of individuals, organizations are usually guaranteed by putting to use, concrete information that help mitigate different types of risks.

Using annuity as analogy, Ayeni said that annuity helps people in paid employment to sustain a desirable lifestyle when out of paid employment.

AIICO Insurance Annuity Plan, he said, helps protect the policy holders against the possibility of outliving ones financial resources in retirement, as it also helps to provide a lump sum benefit in the event of the policyholder’s death.

According to him, annuity guaranteed the holder, among other benefits, a regular income after retirement, affords opportunity for flexible annuity plans ranging from immediate annuity plans to deferred annuity plans and also ensures surrendering of values for deferred annuities after one year.

Aiico head retail sales, added that a spousal annuity option provides for 75 per cent of the original annuity after the death of the annuitant, enjoys tax relief on contributions payable in order to reduce tax liability, annuitants can choose preferred earning at retirement and fund it as well as enjoys a multiple of 5 times of earning as death benefit.

Head, Non- Life, AIICO, Felix Ehumadu, in his presentation said that management of risk depends 99.9 per cent on every individual, who at all times should be concerned on “ things you should do to minimize risks. It is possible to avoid risk from perspective of insurance”

He added that while one works towards transferring risk to the risk bearer, it should be guarded that the transfer process does not negate the business day to day activity.

Bonny Amadi