By Yemis Izuora-Lagos
The Group Managing Director, Royal Exchange Assurance Plc, Mr. Allan Walmsley has asked insurance operators to take advantage of huge potentials presented by the industry to develop strategies to boost their businesses.
Presenting a paper in Lagos he said that,with a penetration rate of less that 1 per cent, the industry boosts of a huge untapped market for the insurance industry and a massive opportunity for insurance companies of the likes of Royal Exchange and others.
The huge untapped market is fortuitous especially in the context of the recent consolidation in the insurance industry, he said.
Speaking further he noted that pre-consolidation, the capitalization level of the entire insurance industry, was below N30billion pointing that in the aftermath of consolidation, it stands at well over N200billion.
He said therefore that consolidation has ushered in a lease of life to the insurance industry, an opportunity for it to reinvent and prime itself, not only to exploit the huge opportunities that abound in the Nigeria market but also to optimize value in so doing\”.
According to him, a very key step towards doing this would be for the industry to systematically deepen public awareness and understanding of insurance and to tactfully manage popular expectations of insurance companies.
It does not appear as if there has been much of a concerted and sustained effort to deepen public awareness and appreciation of the value of the insurance industry in the past. If there has been such an effort, then it probably has been as vibrant and sustained as it ought to have been, given the degree of palpable ignorance that still exists out there with regard to the benefits and essence of insurance.
The Royal Exchange Group, he said, would need to work closely with the industry regulatory body, the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM). In doing so helps to strengthen the body’s regulatory prowess, enabling it to provide regulation that is proactive and robust enough to deliver long-term value for the industry and the country at large.