Experts seek industry support to fast-track economic growth

Stakeholders in the nation’s insurance sector have called on government at all levels and the private sector to support the industry to play its role in carrying massive risk in the economy.Before the potential in the insurance sector can be fully realised, there is a need for governments to insure all public assets in Nigeria.

This, the Director General, the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN), Richard Olutayo Borokini, in an interview with The Guardian, said by governments insuring their assets will also increase the financial ability of the sector in many ways.

Borokini also suggested the enactment of a law to compel all professionals to appreciate the role of insurance in all their dealings, adding that this is one of the ways to make indemnity business viable like in other countries of the world.

He maintained that with on-going efforts to grow the economy, and deliver democracy dividends to the teeming population, the insurance industry should be supported to fully accomplish its growth enhancing potential. “We should all join hands, government at all levels and the private sector should support the industry to perform its highly indispensable role in galvanising the economy.”

He argued that statistics and economics have proven that there is significant relationship between insurance development and economic growth. “Insurance provides vital support for emerging economies, and helps in an indispensable manner to achieve growth targets. Also, a strong and competitive insurance industry not only enhances growth, it substantially mitigates critical challenges on the path of sustainable economic development.”

The Managing Director, Anchor Insurance, Mayowa Adeduro, who also spoke on the development, said insurance makes economic activities possible and contributes directly to growth. For instance, through its risk transfer and indemnification services as well as the essentially value-adding financial intermediary services, insurance guarantees productivity improvement, production efficient enhancement and increase in investment opportunities. Likewise, institutional monitoring benefits provide valuable administrative services to businesses such as risk management.

“Unfortunate, the Africa’s share in the global insurance market is a paltry 1.5 per cent, with South Africa contributing nearly 74 per cent, where insurance contributes close to 15 per cent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), while in Nigeria; we are less than one per cent.According to him, “Insurance plays a positive and very significant role in employment generation.

The machinery of insurance through its value adding activities generates a sustained increase in employment and income. In our determination as a country to grow the economy, we must do something that utilises our strengths and delivers benefits to our teeming population.”

He urged “Nigerians to cultivate the seeds of insurance, water them, feed them, and they will blossom into wonderful achievements. Besides, insurance penetration is the ratio between insurance premium written and gross domestic product, then let us collaborate to grow these penetration ratios in order to bring them very close to expected values.”