About 40 underwriting firms are expected at the first Micro Insurance Fair which aims to bring low income earners into the net and deepen insurance penetration in the country.
At the fair which holds on Wednesday and entitled, ” Making Insurance Works for the Informal Sector”, Sunday Thomas, the Director-General of Nigeria Insurers Association (NIA) said that the trade group realised many years ago that it needed to develop micro insurance to grow industry.
“Though micro insurance growth was stunted because big insurance players have refused to embrace it because they are not ready for the peanut premiums in it.
“But through extensive capacity building of NIA, insurance companies realised that there are over 60 million opportunities in micro insurance, so they embraced it.
“All Nigerians can now access insurance and enjoy business sustainability,” he said.
Insurance penetration in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy by GDP, is abysmally low at a mere 0.6 percent, compared to 15.4 percent penetration in South Africa, 7.7 percent in Namibia, 3.4 percent in Kenya, and 3.0 percent in Morocco.
He said the first micro insurance fair would bring together traders and low income earners who had previously shunned insurance.
“The companies will display various products aimed at protecting low income earners with regular premium payment proportionate to the likelihood and cost of the risk involved,” he said.
Thomas said that the companies had paradigm shift in their market approach and had plans to make insurance more relevant, accessible and affordable to more Nigerians.
He said that micro insurance remained the panacea for poverty eradication, stressing that insurance companies were already establishing themselves in the retail market.
“The Insurance companies that will participating in the fair are Leadway Assurance, AIICO Insurance, Union Assurance, Union and Rock Insurance as well as KBL Insurance.
“Also, Standard Assurance, Sovereign Trust and NSIA Insurance, among others, are also participating” he said.
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