By Nse Anthony-Uko
(Sundiata Finance) — Leadway Assurance Company Limited has launched a new mobile office as part of its strategy to deepen insurance penetration in the country. Speaking at the official launch of the mobile office at the head office of the company in Lagos yesterday, Mr. Oye Hassan-Odukale, said the motive of this initiative is to take insurance services to the doorstep of, especially, the grassroots Nigerians and enlighten them on the need to insure.
Representing Mr. Oye Hassan-Odukale at the event, Executive Director of the firm, Ms. Adetola Adegbayi, stated that the mobile caravan will, from today, starts moving to different parts of the country in a bid to bring more people into the insurance safety and protection net.
The mobile office, he pointed out, will offer some micro insurance products that meet the risk needs of the people in the grassroots, stating that the mobile office can sell insurance policies as well as settle genuine claims. Saying the new office will educate Nigerians as well as increase insurance awareness, she stated that this will equally increase access to insurance among the teeming Nigerian populace at a time the insurance penetration is abysmally low.
According to her, “we wants to simplify insurance by explaining to the people, the contributions insurance can make to their businesses and lives. We are selling insurance in a way people can relate with, as we are not selling policy, but buying risks. They have risks to sell, we have risks to buy and what connects us is the insurance contracts, which is the evidence of risks we bought from you.”
Although, the company has only one mobile office for now, she disclosed that the firm, will assess the acceptance of this caravan, and that if the response is good, will purchase additional ones to take insurance services to all the nooks and crannies of the country.
In the same vein, the Head of Commercial, Leadway Assurance, Mr. Gboyega Lesi, said through the mobile office, the insurance firm will sell microinsurance products, such as; Hospitalcash, Homeflex and Microflex which was recently approved by the regulator, among other products. Aside using the mobile office to sell insurance, he noted that it will equally be used as research tool as the mobile van will always go out with questionnaires to assess the responses of the people towards insurance services.