Yemisi Izuora
Nigeria’s Insurance Industry, is about witnessing full blown digitization to enhance operational efficiencies and sustain growth in the face of COVID-19 which has negatively impacted businesses around the world.
This would be facilitated with Information Technology (IT) guidelines about to be unveiled very soon by the National Insurance Commission, NAICOM.
Commissioner for Insurance, Sunday Thomas, gave the indication Thursday, October 1, at a dinner of 2020 Seminar for Insurance Journalists, holding at Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.
He said already the Commission’s portal that has been on the drawing board for over six years, has been fixed. “Now we have a portal that is taking us from where we were to a new level.
The last module of the portal, will be fixed before the end of the year. Substantially, we now have a portal we can call NAICOM portal,” he added.
He said in the past three weeks, NAICOM has been sensitizing technical people in the industry and that they have been going through series of trainings.
The Commissioner, maintained that the commission fully understands that essence of digitalization, stressing that the digital world remains the driver of business.
“The digital world will drive regulation. On like what we said before, we are going to engage the industry with our IT guidelines. It is no longer going to be historical reporting, it is going to be reporting as at now.
If you tap anybody in the commission, he or she should be able to tell you the transactions in the market in the last four days. That is the objective, that is where we are heading to,” he stated.
Oriental News Nigeria, reports that already, about 50 per cent of insurance in Nigeria are currently done on digital platforms.
This was confirmed by the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Anchor Insurance Company Limited, Mr. Ebose Augustine.
Augustine, told the media in Lagos, that he hoped that more businesses would be generated by the industry through e-platforms in the next three years.
He said COVID-19 has forced operators to reinvent its processes and customer experience as well as how to meet public expectations.
He maintained that the industry is leveraging social media platforms to drive sales, adding that the impact of the pandemic has made them regain human capital, Information Communication Telecommunication (ICT) and our processes.
On the reduction of insurance contribution to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 29 per cent, he said: “Before the pandemic, insurance awareness in Nigeria has been very low compared to other advanced economy and that is why the Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) is sensitising the public, creating awareness to deepen insurance penetration. The pandemic affected every business, so, we expect that insurance will also be affected.
“Part of the initiative is what our regulator is doing, to upscale the compulsory insurance so that the members of the public that are not buying insurance will buy at all levels.This will impact positively on the GDP. All stakeholders in the industry are also putting measures in place to deepen penetration, sensitise the public and create awareness.’’