Insurers to drive market potential via campaigns in 2018

… Unfold plan to work with NSE for sector growth

The nation’s insurance industry has revealed plans to make the sector sustainable through its publicity initiative, which would commence in the first quarter of 2018.

The publicity project, according to the insurance committee, was initiated last year, aimed at educating the public on the need for insurance policies, where they can get genuine insurance products, and how they can get their claims paid as at when due by operators.

The Vice Chairman, Sub Committee Publicity of the Insurers Committee, who is also the Managing Director, Zenith Insurance Company Limited, Ebelechukwu Nwachukwu, disclosed this in Lagos. She said the committee is working to get insurance brokers, agents, and loss adjusters on board, stressing that since they are all parts of the industry, they would all pull efforts together to ensure the project succeeds.

She said the publicity project would be carried out together among all operators, noting that no section will be allowed to do its own publicity differently from the platform of Nigeria Insurers Association (NIA), through which the committee will agree on how the industry will raise and pay the bills to get started. They will also engage ILAN; NCRIB, and Agents to have a common plan, since it affects all operators.

She assured that the publicity project will kick off in the first quarter of 2018, and they will begin to run the first set of campaigns about the industry.

She further said: “We will measure the impact of the campaigns on the public on a regular basis, and by the third quarter 2018, we will decide the activities for 2019. Definitely, we will be back on the table with a clear execution plan. We believe it is best to start in January, which is a fresh year, but we will finish all the arrangements, get the money together, and agree the platforms to use for the advertisements and publicity programmes before January 2018.”

The Group Managing Director, Cornerstone Insurance Plc, Ganiyu Musa, who also spoke on plans to improve the price of stocks of companies in the capital market, said the industry will leverage on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) to appreciate the price of its shares listed on the Exchange.

He said the industry would be tapping from the opportunities in the Facts Behind the Figures, and introduction of insurance analysts into the operations of the industry.

He noted that since information drives market share, “there would be continuous interaction and engagement between insurance operators and the NSE, to help appreciate the prices of insurance stocks listed on the Exchange.”