Operator foresees insurance opportunities in non-oil sector

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, FBNInsurance Limited, Mr Val Ojumah, has identified business opportunities for insurance in the non-oil sector in the light of current economic downturn largely brought about by crashing oil prices.

Speaking at the opening session of the professional forum of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN) which held in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Ojumah noted that the crash in crude oil prices is not a new phenomenon as this tends to happen at least once in a decade.

According to him, “Just as in the 80s, crude oil prices declined from 2014 to 2016 triggering sustained fall in Nigeria’s GDP growth over the same period. Other economic indices too have shown the same decline.

“However, one must note that economies usually go through a boom-gloom-recovery-boom cycle and as professionals in the insurance industry, it behoves on us to highlight key trends in each phase for strategic planning purposes if we want to remain profitable and relevant in our line of business.”

Ojumah highlighted three critical strategic imperatives that are important for the survival and sustained growth of the industry, which include; product innovation, refocused distribution strategy and improved service delivery.

Any practitioner worth his competence, he said, must make these three a core of their strategy, adding that execution may vary from company to company, though the basics are pretty the same. Tough times, he noted, requires smarter and more consumer-focused strategies, innovate or miss out.

“Re-evaluate your distribution strategy or remain stuck in yesterday. Improve your services or lose out to competition. The choice is yours,” Ojumah said.