Underwriters intensify awareness with new retail strategy

Underwriters have keyed into the market development and restructuring initiative (MDRI) to rewrite and create more awareness on the relevance of insurance to the economy.

Stating this in a paper delivered at the launch of a new office in Ogun state, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, African Alliance Insurance Plc, Joyce Ojemudia, restated the importance of viable retail presence in insurance marketing.

Ojemudia said life insurance, especially in this part of the world, “is not bought but sold. Therefore, we remain in close contact with the target markets to drive penetration to grow premium incomes via deliberate market expansion and identifying regions that have good prospects for life insurance”.

The firm’s Brand, Media, and Communications Manager, Bankole Banjo, who spoke on how the industry can grow, stressed that there was still widespread ignorance on the benefits of insurance.

“Added to this is an acute insufficiency of product differentiation, which has led to cut-throat competition due to the similarity of products. These challenges, so far, inhibit the growth of the sector given the existing huge untapped opportunity in the country,” he said.

According to Banjo, for the insurance industry to thrive, operators must show a keen interest in promoting the retail insurance market segment, place the interest of their customers at the centre of their business plan and strategy as well as review and tailor their products to suit the present-day customers.

He charged operators to go a step further to focus less on corporate business and concentrate more on retail business.

The Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, Great Nigeria Insurance Plc, Mrs. Cecilia Osipitan, explained that there was a need to see information and communication technology (ICT) as the driver of insurance growth.

According to her, despite the slow insurance adoption, there is hope that penetration and premium payment will rise as the industry begins to do well.