Experts highlight ways to realise insurance potentials

The Chairman, Susman & Associates, Dr. Shamsuddeen Usman, said insurance industry in the country has a lot of opportunities and potentials yet to be tapped into, suggesting ways to capitalise on the enormous potentials to grow the industry.

Usman, while speaking at the 2nd edition of the Executive Breakfast Meeting Series of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN) in Ikoyi, Lagos, at the weekend, added that a strong macroeconomic, political stability, adequate regulatory and supervisory frameworks and institutions are needed to take insurance industry to a greater height.

Usman, who was a former Minister of both National Planning and Finance, urged the insurance companies as well as the industry to redefine their business strategy and operations, which will allow the adopting firms stand the test of time in a competitive insurance industry.

Calling for strategic alliances with operators within and outside the industry, he implored players to adopt improved service quality, particularly prompt claims settlement, while tapping into the retail sector of the economy to grow the sector’s profitability.

While moving for launching of household insurance, bundled with other financial services (recent success in Uganda), he charged operators to reshape their products, services and channels to suit the needs of everyone, even though, insurance sector requires another round of consolidation exercise to make it stronger.

Usman felt it is right time to develop Takaful insurance and burial insurance, among other innovative initiatives that will allow the industry realise its potentials.

Speaking earlier, the President, CIIN, Lady Isioma Chukwuma, said the programme was packaged to periodically update professionals and practitioners alike, on the prevailing global issues pertaining to Insurance practice.

Noting that the seminar was meant to encourage and assist insurance professionals to regularly update their knowledge in order to respond positively to changes in the business environment and meet the challenging needs of their clients, she reiterated the institute’s commitment to building and enhancing the knowledge and skill capacity of its members through programmes such as the Breakfast Seminar.

In the same vein, the Chairman,  Corporate Affairs Managers’  of Nigeria Insurers Association(CAMCONIA), Mr. Tunde Odeyemi, said it is regretful that in spite of the catalytic roles of insurance to national economies of progressive countries, the industry has continued to find itself in the back waters of development.

Speaking at the CAMCONIA retreat in Abeokuta, Ogun State, he said the core tasks of communication are within the boundaries of portfolio of Corporate Affairs and Communication Managers.

It then means that we as public relations or communications practitioners, as the case may be, need to brace up to unbundle the potentials and benefits of Insurance more clearly to the Nigerian populace, he said.