- Stakeholders Bemoan Low Insurance Penetration in Nigeria
Stakeholders in the industry have said that insurance penetration will not deepen until the needs and expectations of customers are met and delivered. They described insurance as engaging customers and investors to begin to bring in new ideas into the insurance business.
They suggested that to enforce a deep penetration in Nigeria, the industry must present itself not only as someone who is coming to sell policies, but also creating an opportunity for effective collaboration between her and the customers.
Speaking in Lagos during a programme tagged: “Insurance September- Breaking the Code,” the convener,†Ekerete Gam-Ikon, said the delays on the amendment of the National Insurance Commission Act 2003, is the reason customers issues are yet to be addressed. He stressed that with the huge opportunities in the sector, insurance should not be sold out of fear, noting that the time for fear is over, as people are now looking for more opportunities.
“There are expectations that people have, and most are these things not happening. Insurance penetration will not happen until insurance customers are heard, and allowed to enjoy what their expectations are.
The industry needs more orientation to talk to the people who sell these products because most of them are not selling it well. It is not a beggarly industry; it should be the other way round.
In agreement, the President, Venerate Capital Limited, Stanley Zebulon, stressed the need for more orientation to agents who sell the products as most of them are not selling them well.
According to him, most marketers come beggarly in order to secure their jobs. He said they should educate their customers properly on the need to buy policies and not being at mercy of customer.
“The marketers are not equipped to go out in the sense that so many agents are relating to their customers via phone, internet, among others, and you are still sending people on the street to knock on peoplesí doors to sell insurance. How many of the people that are sending agents to knock on peoplesí doors buy insurance? “Why are you sending it to others if you donít like them? That marketers are meant to be looking like beggars because the parties cannot break in until they beg is not sustainable.”
Also, a chartered marketer and entreprenuer, Dienye Peterside, noted that the economy of a country cannot grow unless there is saving, and insurance is a means of boosting saving.
