Experts decry low insurance penetration, seek govt's support for sector

ENHANCING Financial Innovation & Access (EFInA) has revealed that only 0.8 million Nigerians have insurance, while 42.8 per cent of the adults population has never heard of insurance.EFInA, at its quarterly forum in Lagos recently explored the potential in the Nigerian insurance market.The forum was also aimed at evaluating the opportunities, challenges and innovation in product designs for implementing micro-insurance for the Nigerian market.According to EFInA, access to financial services in Nigeria 2010 survey showed that only 0.8 million adults representing (one per cent of the adult population) has insurance policy, while 42.8 per cent of the adult population have never heard of insurance.In terms of risks experienced in the household, 44.1 million Nigerian adults have experienced the death of a relative, 42.4 million adults have experienced serious illness of a family member, 18.0 million adults have experienced theft of a household property and 8.3 million adults have been involved in a vehicle accident.Chief Executive Officer, EFInA, Ms. Modupe Ladipo, revealed the key findings on the insurance sector from the EFInA Access to Financial Services in Nigeria 2010 survey.'Access to insurance services can provide a safety net for the poorest segments of society, when they experience adverse events. When our survey revealed that the penetration of insurance products in Nigeria was only one per cent of the adult population, we decided to host a forum to debate and discuss the challenges, opportunities and innovation required in product design to successfully implement a micro-insurance market in Nigeria, thereby ensuring that the uninsured mass market are insured,' Ladipo said.Head of Micro-insurance and Divisional Director, Hollard Insurance Group in South Africa, Mr. Jeremy Leach lamented the poor insurance policy culture in Nigeria, adding that the Nigerian insurance sector needed government's political will to turn things around if Nigeria hoped to compete at the international stage.Leach, who was the keynote speaker at the forum gave a hint to the participants on how insurance companies had developed micro-insurance products for the low-income mass market in South Africa, adding that Nigerian insurance companies needed to borrow a leave from the South African model to revive the sector.
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