Insurance industry operators advised on retail products

Underwriting firm, Mutual Benefits Assurance Limited has called on stakeholders in the insurance industry to intensify efforts to engage over 200 million Nigerians to drive industry penetration through retail products and market expansion.

The Managing Director, Femi Asenuga, who spoke at a workshop organised by the insurer in Lagos for journalists, said the underwriter had from its inception targeted the underserved population.

He attributed its products to the company’s strategic market segmentation.

He lamented: “It is abnormal to have a huge population in Nigeria and a low percentage of it accepting insurance.”

A Nigerian journalist, media entrepreneur and television host, Kadaria Ahmed, who spoke virtually, urged insurance firms to continuously sensitise the public on the benefits of insurance.

She said: “Reliable policies should be formulated around risk management as this will build trust among citizens and even attract new investors”

Ahmed urged the government to provide an appropriate environment that encourages the insurance business.

“The success of an economy is tied to the availability and accessibility of insurance and its products. Without the guarantee of insurance, most businesses will not be able to operate, and construction projects, which foster infrastructural development will be executed,” she said.