Insurers Urged To Collaborate With Fintech On Products Awareness
Insurance companies have been urged to explore opportunities for collaboration with Fintech firms for the marketing and distribution of their products within the ambit of existing regulations for the sector.
This call was made Thursday by Oladimeji Alo, Managing Director, Excel Professional Services Limited at the 2022 mid-year business outlook seminar organized by the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN) held in Lagos.
Fintechs are firms that deploy Financial technology and innovation with the aim to compete with traditional financial institutions in the delivery of financial services.
Speaking on the theme: “Economic Policies of the Government in 2022: Challenges, Issues and Prospects”, Alo said the current business climate has proved “difficult for Nigerian insurance firms to raise the prices of their products for a variety of reasons.”
The seminar in its Second Edition is a forum where key players in the Insurance Industry, as well as the Finance sub-sector of the economy, converge to review the business environment in the country for the immediate past year and strategise on the way forward for the insurance industry in the New Year
According to him, “the outcome of the EndSARS protest and the claims paid by insurance companies on it helped to project the insurance industry positively. The sector has begun to witness more collaboration with state governments, leading to greater awareness on insurance and its benefits among the populace.”
“The insurance sector recorded major investment in technology, both by the regulator and the players. NAICOM has continued to lead the way in developing innovative policies and solutions for addressing the challenges facing the sector.
Alo noted that Insurance firms will do better to put more effort into marketing the newly developed products for them to gain traction and contribute significantly to revenue and performance.
“There is a need to explore opportunities for collaboration with Fintech companies for the marketing and distribution of insurance products, within the ambit of existing regulations for the sector.
“As insurance companies invest heavily in technology, there is the need for them to pay greater attention to the threat of cyber security. Given developments globally, insurance companies should also pay more attention to the issue of data privacy.
“There is a need to pay more attention to AML/CFT laws and regulations that are being churned out by regulators and government agencies virtually every quarter. There is the need for individual insurance companies to address the issue of boosting their capital to take care of rising costs and to prepare them to participate in big-ticket businesses e.g. in the oil and gas sector and in the aviation sector. There is the need to focus on improvement in customer service, Strategy Leadership Governance.*
In his address, Edwin Igbiti, President/Chairman of Council Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN) explained that the seminar examines the national budget, reviews the thrusts of the fiscal and monetary policies of the government and estimates how these would influence the insurance industry in particular and the economy in general.
Igbiti noted that prior to the second edition, the first analysed the 2022 national budget as it relates to the Insurance industry and how the industry can reposition itself. The objective of this second part of the programme is to review what we have achieved from the first, where we currently are and to proffer recommendations for the rest of the year for the profitability of the industry.
“I am very optimistic that this second edition will be very insightful considering the challenges bedevilling the country such as; insecurity, high inflation rate, debts, oil subsidy as well as trending matters like the upcoming elections; even though there was a positive projection of the global industry at the beginning of the year, these issues will surely have its effect on the insurance industry and the economy in general. So, this is a great avenue for us to discuss and have foresight on how to effectively manage our various businesses in the industry amidst these threats,” he said.
“At this point, I want to appreciate the Commissioner for Insurance for always answering our call whenever we reach out and doing so with the zeal, dexterity and commitment that defines true professionalism. I also salute our theme speakers: Dr Oladimeji Alo, the Managing Director, Excel Professional Service Limited and Peter Ashade, Group CEO, United Capital Plc. We appreciate your thoughtfulness for agreeing to partner with the Institute on this remarkable programme.”
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