WHAT WILL MAKE THE UNINSURED BECOME INSURED?
#ThisWednesday
WHAT WILL MAKE THE UNINSURED BECOME INSURED?
By Ekerete Ola Gam-Ikon
Sometimes, you will think there are people that will never buy insurance, never be insured and never recommend insurance to others.
These people easily say "God is my Insurer!"
"With God, I don't need insurance!"
"In Nigeria, insurance is a scam!"
"Insurance companies never pay claims!"
"With insurance in Nigeria, it's the more you look, the less you see!"
So, you would think that you will "never" catch them doing any form of insurance. Right? Wrong!
Irrespective of religion and culture, or even an ugly past family experience with insurance, these people have come round to become Policyholders of repute.
The circumstances under which they change their stance about insurance include but not limited to:
1. Employment - Employers do insurance for their employees;
2. Application for Bank Loan - Banks require Loan Applicants to show evidence of insurance for their collateral or impose insurance on any bank-funded project;
3. Business Relationship - The Principal often demands to see Evidence of Insurance from the Contractors;
4. Bid for Contracts - Governments require evidence of compliance with certain laws e.g. Group Life;
5. Provision of Professional Services - Especially Health Professionals are required by law to have Professional Indemnity Insurance to protect them against liabilities arising from omission or misdemeanour; and
6. Aggressive and Repeated Pursuit by Insurance Agents and Sales Executives - These persons mostly tied to Insurance Companies deploy all sorts of means including "emotional blackmail" to turn the uninsured into policyholders!
Considering the above, it is easy to see how many Nigerians had become "Accidental", "Emergency" and "Temporary" Policyholders, who "never" renew their policies because the circumstances changed.
Do you now understand why the insurance industry in Nigeria is seemingly stagnating and producing inflation-infested average growth year after year despite the efforts to hit certain milestones?
The contribution of insurance to the resilience of the economy and better livelihoods cannot be overstated. We need insurance to work for our larger interest.
The stakeholders must be awake/alive to their duties and responsibilities:
• Government has made the laws and should see them work;
• Businesses licensed to transact insurance should work harder at retaining the first timers and attracting the uninsured;
• Businesses that have understood the critical role of risk management should seriously consider insurance as an instrument of growth and sustainability; and
• Persons and families that seek to live far above poverty line into the future should demand insurance wherever they work, visit or stay, because it is the non-traditional financial instrument that secures the future!
Live a better life with insurance. Let's make it work for us in Nigeria.
I remain...
Assuredly Yours,
Ekerete Ola Gam-Ikon
NCRIB NAC Award Winner
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