NAICOM mulls industry-wide strategy to deepen penetration

Industry regulator, the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), said it was looking at an industry-wide strategy that would deepen insurance penetration and position the sector along other financial services sectors in the economy.

This, it said, has become very necessary as the industry after the economy rebasing has been placed with enormous responsibility to reassess itself to become more relevant on the economic table. “With the old based economy, the sector barely contributed 0.7 percent to the GDP, and with the rebasing, the contribution of the sector to GDP has dropped to 0.6 percent, so calling for more dynamic strategies to deepen insurance reach amongst the vast populace.”

Fola Daniel, commissioner for insurance, made the disclosure at the 2014 Insurance Professionals’ Forum held in Abeokuta, Ogun State, with the theme, ‘The Insurance Industry – New Trends, New Strategies’.

Daniel said the industry must as a matter of deliberate policy come up with new ways of doing the business in order to achieve better result. “Our marketing strategy must change; our product design and packaging must change; our approach to policyholders and their complaints must change and all hands must be on deck to ensure that the message of insurance is taken to the grassroots.”

“If we must move the insurance market from its present level to an optimal pedestal within the financial services sector, then there must also be a consensus on how best to tackle the challenges”, Daniel noted