NAICOM set to unlock over N60b microinsurance market

Chuks Udo Okonta

The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) will soon release the guidelines that would help unlock the over N60 billion microinsurance untapped opportunities, Inspen has learnt.

It was gathered that the commission is putting finishing touches to ensure the release of the much anticipated guidelines, that would help deepen retail market and take insurance to the grassroots.

An industry observer, said the guidelines when operational, would strengthen the collaboration between insurers and micro finance banks operators, whom it was learnt, are anxiously waiting to leverage the guidelines to secure the loans granted to their customers.

Managing Director Riskguard-Africa Nigeria Limited Yemi Soladoye, said the embrace of microinsurance and retail market would trigger a revolution in the industry, adding that some few companies that have keyed into the system are presently doing very well.

He urged insurers to develop products that suit the need of the public, adding that any product that does not take default into consideration would fail. He said most insurers sell products and not solution.

He noted that research has revealed that Micro Finance Banks (MFBs) in the country presently have over 20 million customers, stressing that the customers are good prospects for microinsurance.

He said the problem of insurance is that most people lack education on how it operates, adding that it is worrisome that most operators recycle products developed by their counterpacts.

Group Managing Director, Mutual Benefits Assurance plc, Akin Ogunbiyi, said the company has position itself in microinsurance business, adding that the firm would soon launch 50 microinsurance product very soon.

He noted that firm has products as low as N50 that suits the need of the public, stressing that through the firm's micro finance bank, it has been able to issues over 65,000 individual policies.

He said: "Mutual micro finance bank, is into micro insurance and we have devised products and services that common people can actually buy. We have products as low as N50.

"Our products are affordable and it meets the needs of this people and of course we approach the micro insurance association of Nigeria. We discussed our idea with them and how we can use insurance to create value and empower the people, but all our plea and presentation never saw the light of the day.

"That was how we approached NAICOM, we made a presentation to them as to the objective we want to achieve using micro finance banks to drive micro insurance. As God will have it they gave us the approval to invest in the bank. Today the bank alone has given us about 65,000 individual policies.

"These are N10, N5 policies hanging somewhere, which the insurance industry would never have captured as premium. But we are very happy the micro finance bank is doing very well. It is through this we have been able to actually meet the objective of creating value and empowering the masses."

He noted that the company, today sell insurance to pure water sellers, book sellers, teachers, drivers and more through well structured microinsurance strategy.

"It is a success story today in Lagos state. I remember, we have a group of people who are selling jotters. We approached them and put them in cooperative units, we empowered them as well encouraging them.

"Today they are accessing up to 10 million naira from the micro finance bank and they are paying back. The same applies to those selling textbooks, purewater, this is what we have done to use insurance to create value, empower them to be able to buy our products and services," he maintained.