GNI admonishes Nigerians to build insurance culture

Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc has called on Nigerians to adopt the culture of insurance, especially, during the current financial crisis.

In a statement made available to Business247 Online News, the Chief Technical Officer of the company, Mr. Folusho Alliyu, stated this, following the various incessant cases of road accidents across the country, collapse of buildings especially those under construction, fire outrage and other eventualities which have destroyed properties worth billions of naira.

Alliyu said it is the time for Nigerians to consciously educate themselves on the benefits they are bound to derive in taking up an insurance policy, adding that there are various insurance products that have been designed to protect lives and properties. He pointed out that the most essential thing is for the insuring public to willingly open their minds and accept the fact that insurance is a very important aspect of their lives.

According to him, “Nigerians have waited too long in recognizing and accepting the reality that without insurance, one is like building a house without a foundation and in no time, it could come crashing; and when that happens, you will have to start from the scratch again with even more funds than you initially expended.”

He stressed that insurance gives one the promise of a safe and comfortable future. The earlier we disabuse our minds of the old notion that insurance does not work, the better it will be for all of us, he concluded.

Also commenting, the DGM/ Head of Marketing & Business Development of the underwriting firm, Mr. Toyin Alonge, attributed the low patronage of insurance in the country to the fact that Nigerians lack the basic insurance knowledge to fully appreciate the benefits inherent in it.

To him, “there’s a willing suspension of acquiring basic knowledge about insurance products and how it works by majority of Nigerians which must be dispelled”.

Earlier, the Managing Director/CEO, Mrs. Cecilia O. Osipitan, said low awareness remains one of the major reasons why a very large percentage of the Nigerian populace is not insuring as they ought to considering the population and the level of commercial activities in the country.

She also emphasized the need to positively influence the perception of the insuring public to engender greater patronage as the negative notion that most people have against this very noble profession is adversely affecting the performance of the industry.