Insurance sector will grow and develop seamlessly when consumer’s experience with the industry’s services becomes more positive, exciting and educating. This was the position of consumers and partners at the 2016 Almond Production Limited Consumer Forum on Insurance held in Lagos. They believe that imbibing the culture by citizens would become easier when awareness creations are driven by positive experiences. Besides that, they also agreed the ignorance is also a major setback in embracing insurance as many people do not understand the benefits of insurance protection to their families and assets. In a communiqué issued at the end of the forum, the consumers called on insurers to continuously create awareness on what insurance is and how the insuring public could benefit from it is protection. In this regard, they want the industry to put in place more efforts to promote insurance literacy in the country .
The insurance practitioners, the consumers said should put in more efforts to leverage on modern technology in the distribution of insurance products, calling for collaboration between the Nigerian insurance industry and the relevant government agencies in promoting compulsory insurances in the country.
“The industry should put in place a more efficient complaint bureau system to settle disputes arising in insurance contracts in the country. The insurance companies in the market should strive to set up efficient research departments that would allow them to identify the insuring needs of the Nigerian publics,” insurance policyholders stressed.
While calling for the training and re-training of the insurance markets so that they should be more abreast with the contents of the products they are marketing to the insuring public, they urged insurance practitioners to look for the opportunities coming from the present economic recession, more so that recession is risk and insurance is all about risk management. There is need for the industry to adopt modern technology so as to efficiently remind policyholders of policies that were due for renewals, they pointed.
Earlier, Consultant, Corporate Skills Bridge Limited Alex Anameje, said misconception about insurance products and services still persists, urging industry players, regulators and other stakeholders, to increase insurance awareness to deepen insurance penetration and acceptance in the country. “The supervisory authorities, the professional body, the trade association and the individual operators should go extra mile to ensure that the message permeates. It can be seen that apart from the activities that statutorily require insurance cover, so many other areas are hardly given consideration,” he stressed.
Charging insurers to ensure that the interest of the consumer is always protected, he believes there is the need for absolute transparency and for keeping to the letters and spirit of the agreement. All cards need to be laid on the table and all tiny prints should be brought up and explained to the insured as this will guarantee trust and promote the insurance acceptance, he opined. Insurers, according to him, should always be on the look out to identify insurable interests of potential consumers and approach them to enlighten them on the need to insure such interests. The onus, he said, is on the insurer to highlight the obvious benefits of taking insurance cover and the odds of doing otherwise.
“Insurers should convince the potential consumer that the marginal utility to gain in purchasing a given policy exceeds the marginal utility of holding the income that would be given up at purchase or that of the alternative good to be foregone,” he pointed out.
