Reposition To Take Advantage of Economic Reforms For Sector Growth, Experts Urge Insurance, Pension Operators
The operators in the nation’s insurance and pension industries have been urged to reposition the sectors to take advantage of opportunities of economic transformation that will take place during the incoming administration.
The call was made by experts who spoke at the 7th BusinessToday conference in Lagos recently.
They emphasized the need for insurance and pension operators to reposition the two sectors to take advantage of the yet to be unlocked economic opportunities that will happen during the next administration to drive the growth of the sectors.
According to Dr Muda Yusuf, who presented the theme paper, we are in a transition and we need to take a look at the economy under the next administration. We expect some reforms to happen and insurance and pension operators need to reposition the sectors to take advantage of those reforms.
“Already, we have seen some constitutional amendments in the power sector and the states are now in the position to generate power and distribute. Such reforms are going to unlock opportunities for investment and we must position our industries to take advantage of the new opportunities that will come with the new economic reforms.
“The centralization of the power sector is going to come with a lot of investment opportunities, so we need to position ourselves to see what opportunities will come for insurance and pension sectors.
“Secondly, we are still talking about the subsidy. Subsidy has two sides. There is a side that has to do with impact on welfare, cost of fuel etc. But as business people, we need to see the opportunities that the oil and gas sector reforms itself within the petroleum industry act, the new opportunities that is coming for insurance because the whole idea of subsidy removal is to unlock opportunities in the oil and gas sector.
“By the time we are able to deal with it, it has a whole lot of opportunities for investment in the entire oil and gas value chain – we are talking of marketing, we are talking of pipelines, we are talking of petrochemicals, we are talking of refineries, we are talking about a whole lot of opportunities that will come from it. This will provide opportunities for insurance and the sector must do everything not to miss out, Dr Muda Yusuf stated.
While they emphasized the need for accurate data as a panacea for the growth of the sectors, the experts also called on the operators from the two sectors to be innovative in their product creation by creating products that meet the needs of the people.
While calling on regulator to step up monitoring activities, they also harped on the need for growth-driven regulation that will not only enhance the growth of the sectors but ensure the sectors’ contribution to the nation’s economy.
The panelists who discussed the theme paper “Customer Satisfaction In Deepening Penetration In Insurance and Pension Sectors,” at the event included Chairman of Boff & Company Insurance Brokers, Mr Babajide Olumide-Agbeja, represented by the MD/CEO of the. Company, Mr. Oreoluwa Olarinmoye; Chief Executive Officer, Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Dr. Muda Yusuf; Managing Director, Tangerine General Insurance, Mr Ademayowa Adeduro; Pension Consultant and former Managing Director, Access Pension Custodian, Mrs. Idu Okwuosa-Okeahialam and the Managing Director, International Energy Insurance PLC, Mr. Olasupo Sogelola.
