Insurance companies are leveraging digital and technology innovation to increase insurance industry’s penetration and premium income from over N726.2 billion it recorded last year to N1 trillion in 2023 financial year end.+
The president, Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA), Mr. Olusegun Omosehin, who stated this at the ongoing ‘Insurance Meets Tech 2023’ conference themed: ‘Unlocking Policy and Tech Bottleneck Hindering Disruptive Insurance Penetration’ in Victoria Island (VI), Lagos yesterday, noted that, the N1 trillion gross premium has been an age-long target for the industry, but hopeful, the sub-sector will achieve the feat this year.
The industry, he said, has progressed a lot in the area of technological adoption, while believing that tech and digitalisation will steer the insurance industry to meet its expectations, even as he promised that operators will continue to partner tech companies in a collaboration that will yield positive results.
He stressed that the industry is leveraging technology on adoption of third party motor insurance and has partnered several states including Lagos State to enhance insurance adoption, especially, from motorists in the country.
According to him, “We, as insurance operators, believe technology and digital resolution will enhance insurance operations, deepen penetration and acceptance in the country. To this end, we have collaborated with some state governments, including Lagos State to enhance third party motor insurance adoption.”
He is optimistic that technology is a leveller, a platform that will give the insurance industry the needed breakthrough and that insurance operators are open to its adoption.
Earlier, the convener of the initiative, Mr. Odion Aleobua, stressed that, though in the fourth quarter of 2022, the insurance industry recorded a staggering N726.2 billion in gross premium income, he believes, the industry is merely scratching the surface of what is possible.
Saying the figure is just a testament to the enormous potentials that lies within the industry, he added that, this indicates an industry with the capacity for exponential growth and its collective responsibility to unlock the potential.
“ However, when we consider that in the same year, Zenith Bank Plc alone reported N945.5billion in gross earnings in the same economy. It indicates the potential and it is instructive that the Nigerian insurance industry has yet to scratch the surface of what is possible,” Odion, who is also the managing director/CEO of Modion Communications Limited pointed out.
Moreover, he said, the burgeoning success of insurtech with substantial millions of dollars in investment, underscores the importance of embracing technology and innovation to shape the future of insurance in Nigeria.
Insurance Meets Tech 2.0, he said, is a platform to harness the potential as its a gathering of visionaries, innovators, and industry leaders committed to pushing the boundaries at what insurance can achieve in Nigeria .
“As we embark on this journey together, let us remember that change is not only inevitable but essential for progress.
Let us embrace the challenges before us and transform them into opportunities for growth and transformation. Let us harness the full potential of technology to make insurance more accessible, affordable and reliable for all Nigerians,” he advised.
Similarly, CEO/founder, Caladium Consulting, Ayo Bankole Akintujoye, said, every industry is harnessing the opportunities in technology and insurance cannot be isolated, thereby, calling for a stronger collaboration between the insurers and tech firms to deepen insurance penetration, acceptance and profitability.
Calling on insurers to learn from the banking industry that has led the pace in digitalisation and leveraging on multiple channels to reach out to customers, he urged operators to move with trends to hasten growth and not to be left behind in the scheme of things.
He applauded the maiden edition of the programme which took place last year, expecting that the ongoing conference slated for yesterday and today should outpace the previous one in terms of rich contents, partnership, networking and impact.
