The less than one percent penetration of insurance in Nigeria despite the huge population of over 200 million people is a big concern for stakeholders in the nation’s insurance industry. They are therefore canvassing for collaboration among stakeholders including the media to ensure that the benefit of insurance is communicated effective to all nook and crannies of the country.

The Chairman of the Governing Council, Insurance Industry Consultative Council (IICC), Muftau Oyegunle, has identified journalists as critical stakeholders in insurance industry even as he called for more support from the media to increase the industry’s penetration. Muftau who is the President/chairman, Governing Council, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN) made the disclosure at the 2020 Media Retreat with the theme “Changing the Face of the Media, The New Expectations,” organised by the body for insurance journalists at Ijebu Ode, yesterday.

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According to him, “We want to work together to move the industry forward. If we are able to increase penetration rate, it’s for our mutual interest. If the industry grows, of course, we shall benefit from it, so l want to say that don’t just see yourself as onlookers, see yourself as a critical stakeholder in the industry. When we come around here let’s tell ourselves the truth., always do the needful in order to move the industry forward.”

He commended the collaborative relationship existing between the insurance journalists and the insurance industry, and promised to do everything to improve on it.

Also speaking, the President, Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers, (NCRIB), Dr (Mrs) Bola Onigbogi, who was represented at the occasion by the Vice President, Mr. Tunde Oguntade, informed the journalists of the expectations of the industry.

Modestus Anaesoronye is a leading Nigerian financial journalist with over two decades of experience reporting on the insurance and pension sectors across Nigeria and West Africa. He has held key editorial positions at major national media outlets, including The Comet, The Nation, and Financial Standard, and currently serves as a Senior Financial Analyst at BusinessDay Media Ltd. A widely travelled reporter, he has covered industry developments in more than 14 countries across Africa and Asia. Anaesoronye is a multiple award-winning journalist, honoured several times as Insurance Journalist of the Year and Pension Journalist of the Year by recognised industry bodies, including PensionScope and the Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp), among others.

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