December 2023 Insurance Advisory: Create Your Insurance Experiences

By Ekerete Ola Gam-Ikon

It is very interesting that, in Nigeria, everyone has access to the insurance industry, not necessarily insurance policies or solutions.

Thanks to the Global System for Mobile (GSM) Communication, by the time you call three persons, you’ll be linked to the insurance industry in Nigeria. Many people have different experiences with the insurance industry but we are keenly interested in the Policyholders, who eagerly share their not-so-good experiences with friends and family that, in turn, talk about what they heard as if the experiences were theirs.

When asked to further explain, you hear responses like “it’s actually my Brother-in-law that had this experience. Me, I can’t do insurance in Nigeria.” Why? Story for another day…

My advices this unique month are:

 ADVICE 1: Create Your Insurance Experiences

Experience often comes from those that have been around for years. It’s important to learn from them and necessarily begin to have yours without the pains they had gone through.

Starting early helps build good and rewarding insurance experiences.

For example, an Individual Life Assurance policy you start at the age of 35 will be more rewarding than the one you start at 55!

ADVICE 2: If Dissatisfied with Your Experiences, Reconsider Your Route Into the Industry

Your road into the Insurance Industry seems to often determine your experiences. Most of us have entered the industry through Brothers, Sisters, In-laws, and Friends and it’s okay, but when we needed to transit and relate with the insurance companies, we failed.

And when problems (claims) arose, our contacts were unavailable or unable to assist.

Take time to reconsider your relationships to start enjoying your insurance experiences.

 ADVICE 3: If Satisfied with Your Experiences, Validate Your Route Into the Industry

Of course, when the relationship with your insurance company has been smooth, you’ll not even want to hear that you should check them out.

One claim is enough to validate the relationship for you. You will discover that your Insurer liked you because you were paying premium and had no claim.

The day you had to make a claim became the day you were reclassified from friend to “frenemy”! How sad though but it happens.

Always seek to validate the relationship no matter how sweet it feels.

 ADVICE 4: Always Check on Your Insurer

Just like a close friend or relative, check on your Insurer to know when the company might be unwell and needing you to decide, whether to help or leave.

Failure to do this check have caused pains to many people who are waiting for their claims payments from insurance companies that had become too weak and/or over exposed to increasing liabilities.

Ask unusual questions and you will get special answers to help you decide.

ADVICE 5: Have the Habit of Keeping Documents

An outstanding insurance company once asked its Individual Life Policyholder to produce all his Receipts of Premium Payments as a condition to be paid his claims upon maturity of his policies with the Insurer!

When he wrote a letter to the Insurer, following the advice of an insurance professional, that he will report them to NAICOM, the Insurer quickly rescinded its earlier position and paid the claim.

Many insurance companies in Nigeria have “Incomplete Documentation” as their reason for having Outstanding Claims in their Financial Statements. Happily NAICOM is now telling them to act rightly by contacting the Claimants to come and complete the documentation.

Have the good habit of documenting your experiences with your Insurer.

ADVICE 6: Compare Your Experiences

It is when you compare prices, terms and conditions, benefits and actions of your Insurer that you will know what to say about your insurance experiences.

No two experiences are the same in insurance even when you have the same policies because your life experiences are different too.

Ensure you compare and you’ll be led to know more about your Insurer and the insurance industry.

ADVICE 7: Recreate Your Experiences

Now that you have had your insurance experiences, which might have made you feel you had been working for the insurance industry, it’s about time you start making insurance work for you.

To make insurance work for you is simple. You either appoint an Insurance Broker or subscribe to the services of an Insurtech firm that has relationships with an Insurer and/or a Broker on partnership basis.

Yes, you can have an exciting insurance experience even if you had a claim that was not paid, when you have made insurance work for you.

Please endeavour to use these advices and remember you can send your questions and comments to me.

See you in #January2024😊

Ekerete Ola Gam-Ikon writes through +234-802-585-0344 and olagamola@gmail.com