Nigeria’s communications minister, Bayo Shittu, has revealed that only 0.9% of Nigerians are insurance policyholders. This according to him is the reason why the insurance sector should latch on ICT as panacea for harnessing and deepening insurance penetration in Nigeria.
Shittu said this in Lagos while delivering a keynote address titled, ‘Driving Insurance Penetration With Information and Communication Technology’ at an e-Insurance Conference. The event was featured the official launch of insurancemarket.ng by Pinet Informatics Ltd yesterday.
According to the minister, Nigeria’s insurance sector, which provides support to the financial institutions has not been fully explored.
“The Insurance sector despite being a major driver of business growth that provides a critical support system to the financial market has not fared well given the current size of the Nigerian economy and population.
“Information available to me indicates that there are less than 1.5 million insurance policyholders, representing a paltry 0.9% of a population of well over 170 million citizens. Similarly, the gross premium of the sector is said to be less than 500 billion naira, implying that the sector contributes less than 1% to national GDP”.
ICT tools, the minister said, could be utilised to develop innovative solutions to improve insurance practice, increase product development and expand market activities in the insurance sector. The suggested processes include improved operational efficiency(including smooth communication between clients and company officials), office automation and optimisation, digital marketing and online marketplace for assessment and purchase of insurance packages.
“In other climes, e-insurance has already been fully adopted and various insurance products can be obtained through online insurance portals, which are programmed to tailor unique insurance packages to the distinctive individual requirements of prospective customers.”
