Insurance industry trails behind First Bank on branch network

Chuks Udo Okonta

Soladoye

More facts have emerged as to why insurance penetration is still very low in the country, as a report obtained by Inspen, showed that First Bank Plc one of the leading banks has more branches than the insurance industry.

 The report revealed that First Bank alone had 692 branches as at December 2012, while the number of Insurance branch offices at the same time was 597.

The Managing Director Risk-Guard Africa Nigeria Limited, Yemi Soladoye, said the above scenario therefore, requires that NAICOM should give recognition and formalisation to the non-traditional providers of insurance and stipulate forced – familiarity of the existing commercial underwriters with microinsurance provision in line with the powers conferred on it under section 7 of the NAICOM Act 1997.