Enforcement is bane of Insurance in Nigeria – Dr. Akin Ogunbiyi
By Oghale Mafuru
The Group Chairman of Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc, one of the leading insurance companies in Africa, Dr. Akin Ogunbiyi says insurance in Nigeria is at low ebb due to the disregard for the institutionalized guidelines and the rule of law.
According to him, the insurance industry in Nigeria will continue to struggle for relevance and patronage unlike its counterparts in other nations of the world because there is a flagrant disrespect for law and order, and there are no adequate measures to checkmate impunity.
He said: “Insurance in Nigeria will continue to struggle for patronage and relevance, because of one simple thing, which I call the application of the rule of law in Nigeria. The laws are there, but nobody obeys the law. In America and Europe, if you say wearing the seat belt is the law; if you are caught not wearing it, it is a hundred dollars fine. They know the implication, so they wear their seat belts. The application of rule of law helps them in the way they operate. We have policies here, we have laws and regulations about insurance, but how many of us obey them?”
The insurance guru, with over three decades of experience, decried the low penetration of insurance in Nigeria. He also observed that a huge percentage of the Nigerian population has no form of insurance and sees no need to.
“Statistics have it that we have over 15 to 16 million vehicles, from tricycles to cars and trucks. How many of them have insurance? In our country, I tell you, we have less than 0.25% insurance penetration. That means insurance penetration in Nigeria is still extremely low. We have over 200 million people. If we say less than 0.25% that means less than 25 million people have one form of insurance or the other” he said.
According to him, though the law regards certain insurance policies as compulsory, there has been a total lack of compliance with that law because of compromises.
“Government says at least for a minimum, buy third party insurance. At least, if I run into you, you must have some measure of protection. Sadly, too, we have fake insurance everywhere; if you get to some licensing offices, you will see them there.”
Dr. Akin Ogunbiyi while affirming that the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted every aspect of human existence noted that business operational strategy has been greatly enhanced in the wake of the pandemic.
In his words: “I am surprised that Covid-19 has positives because considering its rate when it came in the first wave; it was more deadly. It was like it was going to wipe out the entire world. But we are beginning to see the positive sides of it. Covid-19 unveiled the importance of digitisation and smart technologies.”
Optimistic about the growth of the insurance sector this year, Dr. Ogunbiyi asserted that the population of Nigeria is a ready market that needs to be explored and that technology will play a huge role in facilitating that growth.
“The future of insurance is bright and if only the necessary regulations are done, the industry will rise to the challenges. The prospect is there, the future is bright; but for us to take advantage of our population, we must do the needful. technology has proven in every sector to be a viable tool. If we can develop and deploy technology into insurance, it is going to really help us,” he concluded.
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