NIA Introduces Insurance Squad, to Launch Unified Platform
From left: Controller/Head, Human Resource, Administration and Corporate Communications, Nigerian Insurers Association, Davis Iyasere, Director-General, Mrs. Yetunde Ilori and Controller, Information Technology, Research & Statistics, Mrs Bola Omole at the event
The Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) in a bid to enhance the effectiveness of the USSD Code*565*11# launched on January 10, 2019 is introducing a mobile Insurance Team called “Insurance Squad” in Lagos.
Speaking today during a chat with journalists in Lagos, the Director General of the NIA, Mrs. Yetunde Ilori, explained the objectives of the initiative which she said is to remind people on the importance of regularly checking to know the status of their insurance cover.
The campaign which will commence in Lagos from October 2, 2019, according to Mrs Ilori, will last for one month before moving to another state.
She also said that plans have been concluded for the launch of a unified platform where people can easily buy insurance from.
NIA DG said 33 people have been detailed for the job to move from different locations in Lagos to ascertain the authenticity of motor insurance cover in the hands of policyholders in order to help the public imbibe the attitude of regularly checking the state of their insurance certificates.
The Slogan of the campaign, according to Mrs. Ilori is called; “Wetin U Carry?”
“What we are looking at in this our campaign is that we have a slogan “Wetin U Carry?” That slogan is what we want to be in the lips of everybody so that by the time you see a vehicle, the next thing you say is “wetin you carry?
“Not in terms of expecting something from you, but to say, are you carrying the genuine motor insurance cover? Or you are having fake? And not necessary to the point of enforcing to the extent of punishing the person, but to say, you can have something valuable in your hands. If you are having the genuine insurance cover, it gives you peace of mind because in case of accident, you don’t need to take off your shirt and fight. What you need to do, is just to exchange details, give as much information as possible to the insurance company, and then you call upon them to settle your claim.”
“In launching this campaign, we are using different platforms, yours is very critical because your reach is beyond where we are starting the pilot run from. We are taking off from Lagos but it’s not going to be limited to Lagos. But ahead of us getting to other states that we plan to get into, we need you because whatever you release out there, is like going ahead of us and everybody will know that it is happening in Lagos and they will look forward to having us in their own different states.
“So this one is not coming with punitive measure, but to tell the public about the value of insurance and that if you carry a genuine insurance cover, there is a lot of relief for you and you don’t have to wait to be caught before you know that what you are having is not genuine.
“What usually happened when two people involved in an accident is that you think you are carrying insurance but by the time you bring it out, somebody will tell you that this is not genuine. We don’t want people to wait till then. We want as soon as you buy your insurance or you sent somebody to buy it for you, it doesn’t matter the sources from which you bought it from.
“We want people once they buy their insurance cover, they can quickly check and ascertain the status of their policies.
“The campaign will serve to remind policyholders to always check to know when their insurance cover is due for renewal.
“Sometimes because of so many things that we have to deal with, your insurance expires and you have forgotten, you can check and it tells you the expiry date,” she added.
She said the Insurance Squad are expected to interact with people in a friendly manner while checking the status of their insurance cover – telling them, your insurance is about to expire or has expired depending on the feed-back, and information from the USSD Code *565*11#.
The next phase of this, she said, is the accessibility to purchase.
According to her, “Shortly into this campaign, we are going to launch a unified platform, where people can easily buy insurance from. We will have the applications that will enable people to go online and purchase their insurance. All the insurance companies that sell Motor insurance will be displayed.
“This is to enable people know where they can buy genuine insurance because if people know where to buy genuine insurance, they will not be patronizing those that sell fake.
“The platform is going to go beyond buying insurance alone, it will also provide opportunity for people to launch their complaints.
“What you hear is people complaining that insurance companies are not serving them well. But nobody is talking about the good side of the industry.
“On that platform, we are going to rate insurance companies depending on their quality of service and what the public say about the company,” she added.
