Experts have advocated for employment of investment experts by insurance companies and pension administrators as well as provision of adequate data to drive growth in the two sectors and enhance data-driven journalism.
Speaking at the 2020 National Association of Insurance and Pension Correspondents (NAIPCO) Members’ Training on Developmental Financial Journalism in Lagos recently, financial analyst and Shareholder, Mr. Nona Awo, urged insurers to avail Insurance journalists of data to ensure proper dissemination of information to their respective shareholders and stakeholders.
Awo, who was a facilitator at the training, stressed that though insurance revolves round paying of premium and claims, it is, however, first an Investment targeted at curbing risk, as well as ensuring returns on investment.
He revealed that, there are a lot of Investment windows in the country whereby when maximised can place the industry on a better pedestrian to increase its contribution to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
“It is important to talk about Investment in Insurance as it tells you about today and tomorrow returns,” he said. He called on insurers to appoint investment experts on their board of Directors who will help them in articulating strategic plans to make good profit from investment made.
He highlighted poor investment habit as one of the major reasons why some insurers find it difficult to settle claims when it arises.
“One of the major challenges in the industry is claims settlement which can be resolved with proper investment plans that gives outstanding returns,” he stressed.
Also speaking, a media career development specialist, Mr. Lekan Otufodunrin, who spoke on Developmental Reporting and Opportunities, described data journalism as the ability to analyse and examine numbers and to know how to manage large data sets and read them correctly.
