NAICOM’s 2003 Act amendment delay weakens insurance penetration

The delay in amending the national Insurance Commission’s Act 2003 has been attributed to be frustrating insurance sector’s penetration and the continued apathy by many Nigerians to insurance policies.

However, the sector has been charged to be innovative and customer- oriented to achieve the much needed interest in growing clientele base by extending services to more and diversified strata of the population.

Daily Times Nigeria gathered that inability to meet clients’ needs was the hallmark of stakeholders’ opinion at a recent event in Lagos, where stakeholders gathered to discuss the way forward
The Nigerian insurance sector has to meet expectations of clients before it would record higher patronage by the increasingly rising population of the country.

The country’s current population, according to the 2006 Census is 170 million people.
This raises the need for creativity and innovation to meet increasing insurance needs and expectations of modern day clients, which revolves around technological innovation and understanding the ever changing needs of the Nigerian large uninsured population.
The sector, the stakeholders must move form just selling policies of products, to putting the clients first, sharing in the developments, good times and bad times and demonstrating care and commitment to clients cause through all forms of offerings and interactions.

Convener of the Lagos event , Ekerete Gam-Ikon, was reported to have said that the delays on the amendment of the National Insurance Commission Act 2003,is attributable to why customers issues are yet to be addressed.

He stressed that with the huge opportunities in the sector, insurance should not leverage on fear of the unknown to sell policies, adding that period of exploiting psychological weaknesses such as fear as basis to sell policies is over, as people are now wiser and looking for ear compliant opportunities driven by innovative thinking and technology.

“The industry needs more orientation to talk to the people who sell these products because most of them are not selling it well. It is not a beggarly industry; it should be the other way round’ Gam-Ikon said.

Stories by Bonny Amadi