Finance Minister charges Nigerians to embrace life insurance

R-L:  Alhaji Bala Zakariya’u, past president, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria and Chairman of occasion; Mr. George Onekhena, Deputy Commissioner, Finance and Administration, NAICOM, and Mr. Lana Loyinmi, Head Contribution & Bond Redemption, National Pension Commission, during the  3rd Annual National Conference of the National Association of Insurance and Pension Correspondents (NAIPCO) on The Role of Stakeholders in Developing Insurance and Pension Sectors held in Lagos on Thursday. August 09, 2018.

The Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, has said with the various economic developmental initiatives of the Federal Government and its agencies, Nigerians need to build up a solid financial plan for future through life insurance planning.

Adeosun said this yesterday at the 3rd National Conference of the National Association of Insurance and Pension Correspondents (NAIPCO) in Lagos, while giving her special remarks on the conference theme, “The Role of Stake Holders in Developing Insurance & Pension Sectors.”

The Minister, represented by the Deputy Commissioner for Insurance, Finance and Administration, George Onekhena, said life insurance holds the key to wise financial planning and is panacea for poverty alleviation among Nigerians at all levels including grass root dwellers.

She urged Nigerians not to neglect life insurance, even as it is a common habit, noting that this is equal to building one’s foundation on a shallow ground.

The Minister stated that they should rather adding make enquiries on the particular life insurance they want to buy as well as how to go about it.

She also said that those in doubt could engage the service of insurance brokers for professional insurance advice, adding that this has become necessary because nobody knows the day of his death and it will be disastrous for anyone to leave dependents without benefits.

“Every Nigerian buys one house hold item or the other at any time and you don’t enter the market and start making your purchases.

“You make enquiries before going to market, in like manner, in your life insurance decisions, you can take time to ask question on the life insurance policy you want to buy, nobody knows the day of his death so life insurance is critical, life insurance is foundation to every wise financial planning,” she stated.

Speaking on the challenge facing insurance and pension operators in Nigeria, she said people hardly tell the public when they get benefit from these two sectors citing instance of quantum of retirement benefits paid on monthly basis by Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) to retirees and quantum of claims paid in a year by insurance firms.

NAIPCO conference is the only forum that brings pension and insurance operators, their regulators and stakeholders together to discuss their affairs.

The conference played a key role in settling the crisis that arose last year between the two sectors in Annuity administration and management.

L-R: Mr. Lana Loyinmi, Head Contribution & Bond Redemption, National Pension Commission; Alhaji Bala Zakariya’u, past president, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria and Chairman of occasion; Mr Moruf Apampa, Managing Director/CEO, SUNU Assurance Plc; Mr Adebayo Adeleke, Managing Director, Lancelot Ventures Ltd, and Mr. Supo Sogolola, Executive Director, Law Union & Rock Insurance, during the  3rd Annual National Conference of the National Association of Insurance and Pension Correspondents (NAIPCO) on The Role of Stakeholders in Developing Insurance and Pension Sectors held in Lagos on Thursday. August 09, 2018.

L-R: Alhaji Bala Zakariya’u, past president, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria and Chairman of occasion; Mr Moruf Apampa, Managing Director/CEO, SUNU Assurance Plc; Mr Adebayo Adeleke, Managing Director, Lancelot Ventures Ltd; Mr. Supo Sogolola, Executive Director, Law Union & Rock Insurance, and Dr. Farouk Aminu, Head, Research and Strategy Management Department, Pencom, during the  3rd Annual National Conference of the National Association of Insurance and Pension Correspondents (NAIPCO) on The Role of Stakeholders in Developing Insurance and Pension Sectors held in Lagos on Thursday. August 09, 2018.