By Bukola Adetoye
Benin – The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) on Monday said that the commission was currently leveraging on Governors Forum to enable more Nigerians to get insurance.
The Deputy Commissioner for Insurance (DCFI), Mr Sunday Thomas, annou8nced this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at a seminar in Benin.
The seminar, with the theme, “Expanding Frontiers for Insurance Market Development and Penetration in Nigeria,’’ was organised for journalists.
Thomas said the alliance would enable every household in the country to have access to insurance and enhance the industry’s contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
He recalled that in 2010, Nigeria’s insurance sector was ranked fourth in Africa in terms of premium income.
He also added that the sector was 10th in terms of insurance density (premium per capital) and 8th in terms of penetration.
He said the poor ranking in the international sector informed the decision to take some corrective steps.
The DCFI said that there was a positive correlation between insurance and economy development.
“A virile insurance industry is a good indicator of economic growth,’’ he said.
He announced that the industry’s contribution to GDP was currently 0.48, contrary to 0.72 per cent predicted for 2012.
He explained that the Market Development and Restructuring Initiative (MDRI) of 2009 was NAICOM’s project, to reduce insurance gap and increase the industry’s contribution to GDP.
“The project was to grow Gross Written Premium (GWP) from N164.50 billion in 2009 to N1 trillion in 2012.
“It aimed to reduce insurance gap from 94 to 30 per cent in 2012.” he said
He said the targets had not been reached, but the industry in 2016 and 2017 recorded GWP of N325 and N350 billion.
Thomas said the commission had also kicked off the second phase of the MDRI to enable it to realise the targets.
He said the commission had signed agreements with several agencies like the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and Federal Fire Service (FFS), to enforce compulsory insurance. (NAN)
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