Leadway Group seals pact with Nollywood on health insurance

Leadway Assurance Company Limited; Leadway Pensure PFA, and Pinewood Medicare, have signed a partnership agreement with 13 recognised affiliates of the Nollywood Creative Industry, for the provision of an insurance scheme, tagged NollyHealth Insured, for their members.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which was signed in Lagos, would cover registered members of the Nigerian creative industry. They include: Association of Motion Picture Entertainment Editors of Nigeria (AMPEEN); Creative Designers’ Guild of Nigeria (CDGN); Cinematographers’ Society of Nigeria (CSN); Directors Guild of Nigeria (DGN); Film & Video Producers’ and Marketers’ Association of Nigeria (FVPMAN); and Independent Television Producers Association (ITPAN).

Others are Motion Picture Practitioners Association of Nigeria (MOPPAN); National Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP); Screenwriters’ Guild of Nigeria (SWGN); Theatre Arts and Motion Pictures Producers Association of Nigeria (TAMPAN); and United Movie Practitioners’ Association of Nigeria (UMPAN). They will all enjoy a unified general insurance, healthcare, pension coverage and other listed benefits.

Under the agreement, Leadway Assurance Company Limited will provide Life/General Insurance policy, while its subsidiary company Leadway Pensure PFA, would cater for the pension funds of members. Pinewood Medicare HMO would serve as a healthcare service provider for the members of the aforementioned interest groups operating within the Nollywood ecosystem.

Speaking at the event, the Executive Director, Leadway Assurance, Ms. Adetola Adegbayi, said: “Nollywood as at 2014, contributed about $6.6billion to the Nigerian GDP, and sadly; there are situations where practitioners are forced out of how they make their living due to accidents and medical emergencies. We felt it was important that we provide reliable solutions to the problems and ensure we do our best to bridge the gaps that exist.

Speaking on the need to save for retirement, the Executive Director, Sales & Marketing, Olusakin Labeodan, stressed the need for the creative industry to key into the contributory pension scheme.

He said there cannot be a better time to take on the scheme, considering how well the industry has done, noting that the NollyInsured initiative, and MOU signing are a clear indication of good things to come.

The President, Directors’ Guild of Nigeria (DGN), Fred Amata, said: “this is the first collective effort of the creative sector to seize the opportunity of the persuasive power of unified numbers in negotiating an advantage for the benefit of the larger sector. NollyInsured is a progressively inclusive initiative.”

Also commenting, the Managing Director,/Chief Executive Officer Pinewood Medicare, Dr. Olasimbo Davidson, said: “The Nollycare programme is designed firstly to end healthcare inequalities that pertain to income differences, and secondly, to end preventable deaths, which often stem from high healthcare costs. Lastly, the Nolly-care Programme aims to significantly reduce poor health outcomes, which are typically linked to low access to high end specialists and sub- specialist.”

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, who was represented by the Managing Director, Nigerian Film Corporation, Dr. Chidia Maduekwe, assured Nollywood stakeholders of the Federal Government’s continual support towards the development of Nollywood insurance scheme, which provides favourable healthcare conditions for practitioners.