Insurer urges firms to drive shelter against cybercrimes via insurance policy

Determined to regain Nigerians’ confidence on the nation’s insurance industry, AXA Mansard Insurance Plc, has stressed the need for organisations to embrace insurance products that will protect the security and data of their customers from risks of cybercrimes.

The Chief Executive Officer, AXA Mansard Health Limited, Tope Adeniyi, said this at a breakfast meeting with the Nigeria British Chamber of Commerce, in Lagos, themed: “The double- edged sword- Technology advancement and data risks.”

Adeniyi said, “Technology is an enablement that makes a company to develop, but to everything in life, there is always an inherent risk. Technology being an enabling tool also causes cybercrime and the likes of it.

“Especially, the major risk is how to protect customer data and ensure that confidentiality is ensured as well as integrity of the data.

“It is very important to ensure strategies that protect all of the securities, so you need to adopt a well thought-out solution. Protection from cybercrime should be at the topmost level of the decision of the chief executive officers and the board, so that you will know you are giving attention to the right security. And because information drives all the business in the 21st century, the customer’s information is almost as good as the customer himself.”

Adeniyi said that AXA Mansard was committed to driving financial inclusion in all sectors including health care through technology.

“Less than four per cent of the population is insured on health insurance scheme, 100 per cent of the population access one form of health care or the other, either structured or the unstructured healthcare.

“So the goal of our company is to ensure that we bring healthcare to Nigerians and we will leverage on technology to provide affordable and accessible healthcare solutions,” he added.

He disclosed that the firm was coming up with solutions and had ensured partnership on the providers’ side, to render service on high quality basis.

“So in AXA Mansard, we are aggregating the need to improve the quality of health care in Nigeria and globally.

The Director-General, Nigeria British Chamber of Commerce, Mrs. Bunmi Afolabi, said AXA Mansard was invited as one of the panel discussants at the event to speak on its perspectives as a user of technology.

She said: “Technology has come to stay, there is no avoiding it. However, we know that there are risks that come with the use of technology. So we felt that as a chamber, it is important that we sensitise our members and those who come, so that as they are scaling up their technology, they are also aware that they have to mitigate against the risks.”