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Experts link robust insurance, economy to infrastructure development

By Bankole Orimisan
18 June 2018   |   3:47 am
Industry experts and stakeholders have attributed the lull in the economy to infrastructure deficits, explaining that the ecosystem calls for a deliberate effort to close the existing gap between the sector’s contribution and need for economic growth.   The experts, who gathered at the Business Journal’s 10th anniversary lecture, unanimously agreed that there is a link existing among…

NEM Insurance Plc

Industry experts and stakeholders have attributed the lull in the economy to infrastructure deficits, explaining that the ecosystem calls for a deliberate effort to close the existing gap between the sector’s contribution and need for economic growth.
 
The experts, who gathered at the Business Journal’s 10th anniversary lecture, unanimously agreed that there is a link existing among underwriting activities, infrastructure development and economic growth.
 
The Group Managing Director of NEM Insurance Plc, Tope Smart, affirmed that research has equally shown the linkage among insurance, infrastructure and economic growth, adding that they also lead to good quality of life and improvement in mortality rate and consequently, reduce death claims under life insurance.

 
“Infrastructural development is pivotal to insurance growth, even as insurance remains the backbone of any economy due to the basic role it plays, which is to restore people, firm, government to the position they were before the occurrence of any peril”, he said.
 
He contended that good roads will reduce the number of accidents, thereby, leading to reduction in claims on motor insurance, goods in transit insurance and Group Personal Accident Insurance, among others, but ultimately, lead to a better, stronger and healthier insurance industry.
 
“In addition, availability of data helps in the generation and preparation of good statistics that are useful in preparing rate guide for insurance. Good infrastructure will ensure this,” he stressed.
 
Saying it is very obvious that investment in infrastructure will result in the growth of the economy of any nation, he added that the attendant insurance needs resulting from such economic growth will be to the benefit of the industry.
 
But the Director-General of Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Chidi Izuwa, said fixing the infrastructural deficit of the country requires a huge fund, which the country does not have at the moment.
 
He however, expressed optimism that if there is a right environment that allows for Public Private Partnership (PPP), where the private sector generates the fund, this challenge could be jointly addressed. 
 
He said currently, insurance and pension funds are invested in Federal Government Securities, but noted that it will make more economic impact, if such funds can be channeled to fixing the country’s infrastructure, although, that will require having the right recovery mechanism that will allow the funding partners recoup their investments. 
 
Earlier, the Publisher, Business Journal Magazine expressed gratitude to God for the outfit’s 10 years operations, stating that though the road was not all smooth, but that the medium defied the odds to be a force to reckon with in business and financial journalism.
 
Going forward, he said, the magazine has developed a Strategic Plan of Action, to add more values to its readers and advertisers through strategic digital channel expansion, corporate partnerships and tailor-made editorial content.

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