The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc, Olaotan Soyinka has made a plea to Nigerians to imbibe the culture of insurance considering the economic situation in the country. He made this statement at the company’s first quarter review of operations and processes of the underwriting firm at the corporate Head Office in Lagos at a press parley.
The MD/CEO reiterated the need and importance of insurance in the everyday life of all Nigerians irrespective of the tribe, religion or social status in the society. He said, “insurance is an integral part of our socio-economic life that should not be taken for granted” Olaotan cleared that a lot of Nigerians are really trying to make ends meet and therefore, they should be encouraged to have an ally that can be there for them when the eventuality happens and that can only come through having one form of insurance policy or the order.
He also alluded to the biblical story where the Noah’s Ark was the succour for those who took refuge inside it after the flood had receded. In his words, “the earth was restored to its former position with God not having to go through the process of creation like He did in the beginning when the earth was formed”. Like Noah’s Ark, insurance takes you back to your former position before the loss.
Soyinka said this is the time Nigerians need to consciously educate themselves on the benefits they are bound to derive in taking up an insurance policy. He said there are various insurance products that the insuring public can take in protecting their lives and properties but that the most important thing is for the customers out there to willingly open their minds in accepting the fact that insurance is a very important aspect of their lives.
In closing, Soyinka said, “Nigerians have waited too long in willingly accepting and recognizing the fact that without insurance, one is like building a House without a foundation and in no time, it could come crashing; and when that happens, you will have to start from the scratch again with even more funds than you initially spent”. He said insurance gives you the promise of a safe and comfortable future. The earlier we disabuse our minds of the old notion that insurance doesn’t work, the better it will be for all of us. Nigerians should begin to cultivate an uncompromising culture of insurance. he concluded.
