Insurers mull stronger branch operations for retail development

To enhance uptake of insurance at the grass root through retail development, insurers are being challenged at building capacity in branch operations to enable them drive penetration.

This will require strategic investment in IT infrastructure, human capital development, product innovation and partnerships, stakeholders at the 2015 Education Seminar organised by the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria(CIIN) held at Port Harcourt, the River State Capital said.

Isioma Chukwuma, president and chairman of Council, CIIN said the seminar with the theme: “Synergizing Branch Operations and Insurance Awareness” focuses on the roles of branch operations in the effective retailing of insurance products and services, for the purpose of meeting the insurance needs of the teeming population and enhance contribution to GDP.

Chukwuma stated that the 2015 Seminar seeks to champion the repositioning of branch offices for prompt resolution of customer related issues to broaden the scope of public acceptance of insurance. The Seminar also seeks to identify the growth potentials of the insurance industry through branch office machinery and other grassroots retail networks, she noted.

Mohammed Kari, commissioner for Insurance in his opening remark at the Seminar said if the insurance industry is to actually enhance its contribution to the nation’s GDP, then there is need for the industry to reappraise its operational strategy.

Leonard Akah, NAICOM’s Director of Authorization & Policy who represented the Commissioner for Insurance lauded the efforts of the CIIN in promoting Insurance Awareness and Education in Nigeria while reiterating NAICOM’s resolve to continue to support any endeavour that seeks to further grow the relevance of insurance in the nation’s economy, particularly at the grass root.

He noted that the Commission has introduced some new lines of business that are targeted at the hitherto excluded segment of the society including microinsurance, Takaful, and other Mass insurances.

“There is however a general consensus that whatever medium/channel of distribution adopted, that the insurance providers need to be very much accessible to the people. Companies can deploy and make better use of their agents when they have branch offices well located in every city of the country to guide and coordinate the activities of these agents.”

Effective branch operations in this context is predicated on the expectation that companies will engage only qualified and knowledgeable people who understands the need of their clients and will not abuse them particularly considering the fact that the target market in focus here is the low-income segment of the population, Kari observed.

Delivering the theme paper, “Synergizing Branch Operations and Insurance Awareness”, Edwin Igbiti, managing director, AIICO Insurance plc, harped on the need for insurance companies to embrace relevant technology and increase their branch office spread to areas where insurance awareness and penetration are deemed to be low.

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