Stakeholders rally operators on AI adoption for industry growth

Stakeholders in the insurance and pension industry have called on operators in the sectors to adopt artificial intelligence (AI) to drive business expansion in the country.

Stakeholders who gathered at the weekend at the 8th BusinessToday yearly conference/exhibition in Lagos said the adoption would enhance industry profitability and business opportunity in the market.

The stakeholders also pointed out that the insurance penetration is at 0.4 per cent while about 10.2 million workers have subscribed to the contributory pension scheme (CPS) in a country of over 200 million people.

They commended operators and regulators of both sectors for achievements recorded in recent times, noting that this is merely scratching the surface compared to what the industry can pool with AI adoption.

Speaking on the development for both sectors, the theme paper presenter and also the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Cowry Asset Limited, Johnson Chukwu, said in his paper that the uncovered market in both sectors shows opportunities, especially, in the mass market where it costs more to cover.

Chukwu noted that AI is a simulation of human intelligence into a machine format such that the machine can do things that are routine, and faster.

With the global average of insurance penetration at about seven per cent, he said Nigeria is far behind with its 0.4 per cent even as it also shows there is room for growth.

Using Access Bank as a case study, he said, the bank’s assets and profitability outweighed that of the entire insurance industry last year, saying the industry could transform itself in a few years with the adoption of artificial intelligence.

He explained with this technology, the negative reservations that most Nigerians have about insurance and claims payments will be wiped out as it makes insurance policy subscription and claims payments seamless and faster.