At a time of uncertain future in the economy when Covid-19 pandemic, EndSARS protest aftermath, rising inflation, recession and worsening exchange rate are all taking toll on businesses, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises(SME’s) are said to be worse hit.
According to experts, at Access Bank/ Coronation Insurance Webinar Conference on the theme ‘Managing Business Risks at a Time of Uncertainty’, SME’s are hugely exposed to risks of closure and profit erosion due to their low capacity and ownership risks.
But according to Access Bank/Coronation Insurance Bancassurance model, supporting SME’s with solutions will help them cushion the effect of these challenges and enable them survive hardtimes and increase their contribution to the economy.
Roosevelt Ogbonna, deputy managing director, Access Bank Plc, while noting that year 2020 has proven to be very uncertain and unfriendly to everyone irrespective of their industry or economic level, he said the bank decided to partner with Coronation Insurance to evolve a Bank Assurance scheme for the purpose of fulfillment of her promise to customers that we want to be more than just a bank to them.
“We want our customers to experience the best of underwriting and claims experience. “I believe that this partnership makes that possible. Coronation is a natural partner for us. First, because of our history, and more importantly, it meets all the criteria that we wanted in an insurance partner, Ogbonna said.
He said, first, the speed of response and the level of customers care that Coronation Insurance brought to the table .Second, and more critically, financial strength and capitalization of the company. We believe that by coming together, we would define and set new standards for quality service delivery within the insurance industry.”
Ogbonna said the partnership will elevate the level of insurance services to the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, MSMEs, matching those that we saw within the banking sector, and to propel the industry to what it is suppose to be, a bench mark for service within the Nigerian space, Ogbonna said.
Sunday Thomas, commissioner for Insurance in his keynote address at the virtual event said Bank Assurance scheme aligns with the campaign of the Commission in terms of financial education and inclusiveness, and it will give the insuring public an opportunity to be able to get enlightened as to what insurance products they need to have at any point in time to protect their assets.
Thomas represented by Taiwo Adeoyin, technical advisor to the Commissioner noted the need for the insuring public, especially small business owners to take up insurance products in the management of their business.
“It is good to have a good risk management framework as well as to be able to manage our insurances and assets. Risk is part of our business endeavours and the best thing is to evaluate and see what part of the risk you can transfer. The insurance industry has proven its relevance in the affairs of the economy”, he said.”
He commended Coronation Insurance in collaboration with Access Bank Plc, saying that their partnership had come to align with the Commission’s campaign of financial education and inclusiveness.
Another speaker, Gbadegesin Gbede, managing partner, Crown & Lords, Chartered Accountants also charged SMEs operators to use the Bancassurance scheme to boost their business success.
Speaking on the sub-theme “How Inflation Could Impact On Your Business’ he said that 2020 is a year that never before. It has brought us to the reality that we must always be on our feet. We didn’t plan for inflation and increase in foreign exchange and interest rates”.
“We didn’t plan for a lot of things and yet we are in it, and who are the most impacted, they are the SMEs, because of their lower financial capacity, and their reliance on keyman who may be the owner of the business.”
He added that we are in a New Normal, and without effective risks management, it will be difficult for any company to survive.
Femi Oyetunji, group managing director of Continental Reinsurance stated that risk is anything that brings uncertainty into the achievement of objective.
He defined Risk is defined as the effect of uncertainty on objectives, and these could be achievement of objectives, safeguarding of company’s asset.
Oyetunji stated that, we live daily with uncertainties; these times are what we call extreme events.
Yinka Adekoya, managing director of Coronation Insurance Plc said “We are extremely excited at this transformational Bank Assurance partnership with the Access Bank, and we hope it will establish us at the point of reference in the insurance industry in Nigeria, and Africa.”
