West African Insurers seek stronger collaboration to deepen penetration, support economies
Insurance Companies in West Africa have identified the need for players and groups in the different economies within the region to work together and create and industry that would impact on the life of the citizens as well as their individual economies.
They believe that it is only by collaborating together that the sub-region can build capacity in both human and financial resources to enable them develop local markets are competitive and able to play strongly in other continents.
“The different insurance regulatory authorities in the sub-region must work together to ensure that they provided the needed regulation and operating environment that bring about sanity in operations, quality service and an enhanced financial inclusion programmes, says Kemi Adeosun, Nigeria’s minister of finance.
Adeosun spoke at opening of the 38 Annual General Meeting and Education Conference organized by the West African Insurance Companies Association (WAICA) taking place in Lagos with the theme ‘The Practice of Insurance in a Challenged Economy’
The Minister represented by Patience Oniha, director, Efficiency, Federal Ministry of Finance said.
Adeosun, who was represented by Patience Oniha, director, Efficiency in the Ministry of Finance, said the Federal Government understands the challenges affecting the patronage of insurance products and services in the country, noting that, that was the reason why the government through her ministry, inaugurated a committee comprising of all arms in insurance industry in February, this year, hoping that the committee will come up with perfect Consolidated Insurance Bill that will drive the industry forward.
Government is trying all it could to address the poor performance of insurance in the country through several initiative’ and we hope the Consolidated Insurance Bill will address some of these challenges, she stressed.
While charging regulators in the region to create appropriate frameworks and inventions to attract insurance investors into the region, this, he added, will lead to rapid growth, patronage and profitability of West African insurance market.
Joe Irukwu, on his part, believes the industry has witnessed tremendous growth in the last three decades, calling on the current practitioners to practice imbibe the ethics of professionalism, while hoping for more collaborations among companies in the region to increase insurance education and acceptance.
Commissioner for Insurance, Alhaji Mohammed Kari, while believing the industry is on the right path to growth, noted insurance remains a key component of economic growth and development.
Ivan Avereyireh, outgoing president, WAICA said collaboration in the industry has impacted on knowledge exchange among member countries which are helping to develop the region.
Avereyireh said the No Premium No Cover(NPNC) is a good initiative to insurance industry in the sub region, saying, this has assisted in rapid growth in premium generation across the countries in West Africa.
Avereyireh, who is also the Managing Director/CEO, Ghana Life Assurance Co.Ltd, stated that Nigeria, who took the lead in initiating this novel idea, has set a good example which Ghana and The Gambia have followed, noting that this initiative is generating positive response from the people.
Stating that WAICA intends to get insurance into the curriculum of secondary schools and tertiary institutions across the countries in the region, he added that this will enhance the people’s understanding of insurance, thus, relieve practitioners of some stress they pass through in the course of marketing insurance products and services.
“Let us no rest on our oars until we bring insurance to people in all the nooks and crannies of our region. The poor needs to be inculcated into buying insurance products and services and Micro insurance and Takaful insurance will assist a lot in achieving this,” he pointed out.
Avereyireh who commended the formation of West African Insurance Supervisory Authority (WAISA) said “At WAICA, we believe that this collaboration will create platform where ideas can cross-fertilise at sub-regional levels for the development of our individual economies and sub-region at large.
Rotimi Fashola, Vice President, WAICA, said the industry can only be better, in as much as operators in the region act as one, putting measures in place to drive insurance growth across the region, saying he was optimistic about the future. “The industry has scope for growth. Though, there could be challenges now, but I am optimistic about the future,” he stated.
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