Stakeholders must help insurance industry grow for economic development – Ogunbiyi
Given the critical role of insurance in economic development, stakeholders in the economy have been called to collaborate with the insurance industry to deepen penetration. This, experts say has become very important when you consider that there is a significant relationship between insurance development and economic growth.
“Insurance provides vital support for emerging economies and helps in an indispensable manner to achieve growth targets, as a strong and competitive insurance industry not only enhances growth, it substantially mitigates critical challenges on the path of sustainable economic development.”
Akin Ogunbiyi, GMD, Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc who make the remark during a presentation at the 2016 Pearl Awards said insurance makes economic activities possible and contributes directly to it. “For instance, through its risk transfer and indemnification services as well as the essentially value-adding financial intermediary services, insurance guarantees productivity improvement, production efficiency enhancement and increase in investment opportunities. Also, Insurance Institutional Monitoring Benefits provide valuable administrative services in business such as risk management and claims payment.”
Speaking on the theme “Insurance Development Will Fast Track Genuine Change Efforts” Ogunbiyi observed that insurance plays a positive and very significant role in employment generation. The machinery of insurance through its value-adding activities generates a sustained increase in decent employment and income.
He however regretted that, Africa’s share in the global insurance market is a paltry 1.5 percent with South Africa contributing nearly 74 percent to this figure. “Insurance contributes close to 15 percent to South Africa’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) while in Nigeria, we are still doing less than 1 percent.”
Challenging stakeholders Ogunbiyi pointed out that in our determination as a country, to grow the economy, we must do something that utilizes our strengths and delivers benefits to our teeming population.
“Let us cultivate “the seeds of insurance, water them, feed them” and they will blossom into wonderful achievements. If insurance penetration is the ratio between insurance premiums written and gross domestic product, then let us collaborate to grow these penetration ratios in order to bring them very close to expected values.”
“In the on-going efforts to grow our economy and deliver democracy dividends to our teeming population, the insurance industry should be supported for it to fully achieve its growth enhancing potential. We should all join hands, government at all levels and the private sector should support the industry to play its highly indispensable role in galvanizing the economy.”
On its part as a company, he said Mutual Benefits Assurance plc has with its pioneering entrepreneurial value-adding initiative, and very audacious transformational goal demystified the myth that the huge business of insurance can only thrive in the formal sector. With little premium we are taking insurance to all the local government areas of Nigeria. We are guaranteeing personal well-being and comfort as well as investments that deliver and engender sustainable growth, he noted.
“In addition, through our marketing and development initiatives we have given employment to over 5,000 Nigerian youths and about 500 others in Liberia and Niger Republic where we also have full-fledged operations.”
“Our strategy is to give a fillip to corporate and individual efforts and make entrepreneurs as well as businessmen/women more productive and effective. We enhance and boost the wealth of the rich and at the same time help the hardworking poor to completely cast-off the chains of poverty and climb the progress ladder.”You should collaborate with us to work the economy to be optimally productive and thereby make life better and easier for our teeming population, Ogunbiyi urged stakeholders.
Modestus Anaesoronye