Journalist seeks partnership between insurers, Nollywood to drive insurance culture

From left: President Institute of Loss Adjusters of Nigeria (ILAN) Lebi Omoboyowa presenting a plaque to The immediate past President of the National Association of Insurance Correspondents (NAICO), Nnamdi Duru at the Insurance industry joint media retreat in Abeokuta Ogun State.

Chuks Udo Okonta

The immediate past President of the National Association of Insurance Correspondents (NAICO), Nnamdi Duru, has advised insurance operators to partner the Nigerian entertainment industry codenamed, Nollywood.

The Insurance Correspondent of Thisday Newspaper said this partnership could drive the desired insurance culture and deepen insurance penetration in the country.
He gave this advise when he shared his thoughts on “The Media and the Promotion of Insurance Culture in Nigeria” at the maiden Insurance Industry Joint Media Retreat for Journalists covering the insurance beat in Abeokuta, Ogun State recently.

He said the media, broadly classified into print and electronic, could be further classified into books, magazines, newspapers, recording, radio, television, online, social media as well as the new and emerging information and communication platforms.

The music and entertainment industry in Nigeria falls into recording, television and radio conveniently, he posited.

According to him, since the traditional media including print, television and radio have not taken the industry where it should be, the industry should engage other media to drive the desired change in culture in favour of insurance.

Duru, who is also a qualified insurance professional, stated his conviction that Nollywood could fill the media gap and bring back insurance to the consciousness of Nigerians generally.
He noted that members of Nollywood have the greatest followership in the country today, saying they could be mobilised to work for the industry.

"The insurance industry should partner Nollywood to drive the desired insurance culture in Nigeria. Entertainers have great number of fans among Nigerian children, youths, middle class and the elite. These are the target groups for the insurance industry," he said.

According to him, operators in the insurance industry should start imagining the level of insurance awareness, acceptance and penetration they could achieve with little sponsorship of Nollywood works and programmes.

"Many Nigerians watch home videos daily and these have continued to shape their attitudes and behaviours. If the insurance industry should invest in Nollywood, sponsor the works of movie writers, producers and directors to make them add insurance contents in their movies, it will go a long way to shape the attitude of their audience in favour of insurance.

"Also if we consider the followership of stand up comedians like Ali Baba, Gandoki, Gordons and Basket Mouth or show promoter, Opa Williams, one can imagine the impact should insurers partner these entertainers, co-sponsor their shows and events or provide insurance cover for their audience, artists and equipments used for their shows. Any claim paid in this regard would go a long way to drive insurance awareness and penetration across Nigeria because they will announce, advertise and even dramatise claims settlement before you know it," Duru explained.

He also advised operators in the country's insurance industry to also make good use of social media to engage existing and potential customers.

He said the social media including the popular Facebook, Twitter and Viber as well as the less popular Instagram, Twoo and others could be used by operators to engage followers on such media and get the desired results.

Duru also advised the operators to combine the use of available media to bring insurance to the consciousness of Nigerians and sell their products and services.

"Insurance operators should balance the use of various media platforms to deliver insurance messages and bring back insurance to the consciousness of Nigerians.

"Developments and trends in the country points to Nollywood and the new media as the way forward for insurance awareness campaign. These are some of the ways to drive insurance culture, raise insurance awareness level and deepen insurance penetration," Duru said.