The media has received a spiralling appeal to assist the insurance industry and boost ongoing efforts to deepen insurance penetration in Nigeria.
The managing director, Anchor Insurance Limited, Mr. Augustine Ebose, gave the charge to assist the industry at the inauguration of new executives of the National Association of Insurance and Pension Correspondents in Lagos, and reiterated that adequate sensitisation and enlightenment of the public on the benefits of insurance products and services was constantly needed.
Ebose acknowledged the exclusive role the media play in information dissemination and unveiled this in his paper, “The Role of Insurance Journalist in Emerging Realities,” stating that deepening insurance penetration in the country would come through the media communicating the message of insurance to the public.
Anchor helmsman who was represented by the Executive Director, Technical, Adebisi Ikuomola, said the new normal created by Covid-19 pandemic, has placed a responsibility on the media to constantly educate the public on the new ways of doing things.
He said: “It is the social responsibility of the journalist to ensure that as the light of the public, no one is left in the dark about new realities;” noting the global new normal has “imposed an onerous responsibility on journalist to continue to update their skills by developing new capacities, a paradigm shift in the way we see things, report issues objectively to achieve balanced perspective and stand point.”
Speaking on recapitalisation exercise, he said, “It is the duty of the insurance journalist to offer regular well researched analyses on how companies can go through the processes with ease, the advantages of the process to insurers, shareholders, the insured and the workers. It is not a time for the insurance journalist to begin to watch to know who will sail through or not.
“The new reality poses new levels of risks globally, overwhelming health infrastructures and developing economies are harder hit. Most advanced countries entered into the pandemic with historic loan and public debts on average higher than they have been over the years.”
While highlighting the pandemic challenges, he said the impact on the insurance services could be felt in areas like high claims demand, credit risk exposures from businesses facing possible default, lack of sales from travel insurance, less use of face to face marketing channel, surge in demand for health and business interruption insurances.
On the quick response of the market to the new realities, he said: “The Nigerian insurers are a set of geniuses as we already have developed and perfected quick ways to pre-empting any challenges the pandemic throws at our businesses any time.”
