Hon Nwokocha, Gov Sanwo-Olu, Thomas, Others Urge MSMEs To Embrace Insurance
The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Insurance and Actuarial Matters, Right Honourable Darlington Nwokocha, the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Commissioner for Insurance and Chief Executive Officer, National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Olorundare Sunday Thomas amongst others have called on owners and operators of Micro, Small And Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to embrace insurance as a risk mitigation tools.
They made the call yesterday at a sensitization workshop on insurance organised by NAICOM for MSMEs in Lagos State and its environs.
Nwokocha who called on the MSMEs to embrace insurance in order to take advantage of the benefits to guarantee the safety of their operations also assured that Insurance Bill 2020 before the National Assembly which is 70 per cent completed has the capacity to revamp insurance industry for speedy growth.
The lawmaker said when Bill is pass into law will boost insurance business which will in turn benefit all Nigerians, adding that all insurance issues being encountered by many will be a thing of the past.
Nwokocha who commended Lagos State Government for its effort in promoting insurance Penetration in the state, added that the passage of the Bill will pave the way for the full enforcement of the compulsory insurance.
He noted that Lagos State will serve as a sample state for insurance compliance.”I want to congratulate Lagos State Government because what you are doing in the area of insurance and insurance Penetration is encouraging. We are going use Lagos State as a sample of where insurance works”, he assured.
The Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu who was represented by the Commissioner for Finance, Lagos State, Mr. Rabiu Olowo, while speaking at the event acknowledged that MSMEs which account for about 49 per cent of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) and contributes 90 per cent of the nation’s employment needs to be protected against unforeseen occurrence that will jeopardize their operations.
He implored the insurance operators to provide insurance solutions to the MSMEs.
Sanwo-Olu said the state government cannot afford to ignore the challenges confronting MSMEs and threatening their survival and described the sector as “very resilient.
According to him, “our MSMEs as very resilient, if you can do business in Nigeria and thrive, there is no where you cannot thrive” he said.
“We have launched so many initiatives and strategies and are still implemented towards providing an enabling environment for MSMEs to not only thrive but to succeed.”
“As laudable as these initiatives the sustainability of the anticipated gains cannot be fully guaranteed without a safety net against unforeseen circumstances”
As a guaranteed approach to protect small businesses against unforeseen losses and circumstances that may threaten their operations, the Governor stated that securing insurance cover must be encouraged.
He advised insurance companies to ensure that insurance policies designed for MSMEs must meet their needs and also address the peculiarities of MSMEs.
“There should be specially designed products that will meet their category, income, operations and processes such must be affordable and free of technicalities so that it can be easily understood with assurance of settlement of claims,” he said.
”I enjoin all MSMEs in Lagos State to embrace insurance as safety net against losses that might be suffered as a result of unforeseen circumstances,” he urged.
Thomas explained that the workshop was meant to educate and enlighten the MSMEs on the benefits of insurance and its importance to national development even as he described it as the fulcrum of a nation’s growth and sustainability.
NAICOM boss identified MicroInsurance and Takaful as two insurance offerings carefully designed for affordability and inclusiveness to bring Insurance within the reach of one of the nation’s most valued contributors to the economy.
He said this will support the sector for speedy recovery when unforeseen situations occur. Thus, NAICOM have undertaken to educate and drive enrollment for these products through this sensitization workshop, he added.
CFI pointed out that MSMEs form the superstructure to stimulate mass enterprise growth and serve as a source of livelihood for the base of the pyramid population across all economies be it underdeveloped, emerging or frontier markets.
He noted that all development interventions of the current administration have had components focused on enabling these MSMEs sprout and flourish but unfortunately, with little or no insurance content to deal with associated risks and Aensure sustainability and guarding them against failure.
In her goodwill message, The Director General Nigeria Insurers Association (NIA), Mrs Yetunde Ilori, said that the era of ‘God Forbid’, ‘It will not happen to me’ has gone adding that one of the main reasons for the workshop is to ensure that entrepreneurs have peace of mind.
“The operators are here to develop products that meet your needs, the regulators are also enacting laws to ensure all parties are considered and we are happy that Lagos state is supporting us on this”, she said.
On the Impact of securing MSMEs, the President of Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria, Mr Muftau Oyegunle said that the MSMEs are fundamental at core areas of its operation that is needs to expand.
