As the Federal government celebrates the commissioning of the insurance portal of the National Insurance Commission, for online real time transaction of insurance business and the deluge of data, the Minister of Finance Mrs. (Dr) Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed (pictured) has directed NAICOM not to stop at connecting all the operators to the portal but to extend same to other government agencies and, with same zeal improve penetration.
The minister harped on these and, also focused on other salient areas. The need for corporation with other agencies of government to enforce compulsory insurances in the country.
Her charge, “Stakeholders in the industry must consciously and intentionally spread the reach of insurance from the major cities and few states to other regions of the country especially the rural areas. Low penetration in the retail end of the country must also be addresses through vigorous drive of inclusive insurance like microinsurance and takaful.”
She raised concern over the low penetration at 0.88 contribution to the GDP in 2021. Despite the low score Zainab Ahmed said, “this also shows that there are abounding opportunities for growth in the market.” She therefore, called for innovative products based on data and customer preferences and introduction of new channels of distribution beyond the traditional channels to reach new segments of the market.
In her terse commendation the minister said “the long overdue digital transformation of the insurance industry has begun with the attendant effect of increased penetration, reduction in the numbers of fake insurances, efficient service delivery and improving public trust in insurance.”
