By Cynthia Alo
Vice-Chancellor of Enugu State University, ESUT, Professor Anike Okechukwu has described insurance as a veritable tool for tackling financial uncertainties that provoke poverty in Nigeria.
Speaking at the 47th edition of the annual education seminar of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN) in Enugu, the VC said that insurance is critical in every country because it reduces the burden of the risk associated with everyday life and through insurance individuals or entities are protected against losses and are helped to maintain financial stability.
Speaking on the theme, ‘financial inclusion in Nigeria through insurance: challenges and prospects,’ Okechukwu said that with insurance many Nigerians will be lifted out of poverty adding, “The root of the poverty rate in Nigeria lies in the deprivation of people’s access to basic necessities such as food, shelter, healthcare, education, security, and assets and to solve these issues there must be concerted efforts toward financial inclusion for all citizens.”
Okechukwu noted that financial exclusion is a burden that must be lifted and which can be achieved by adequate financial planning through insurance adding, “Appropriate financial services can help vulnerable households reduce risk, build resilience, smoothen consumption, safeguard savings, better manage the consequences of unforeseen events and invest in assets and grow businesses. To achieve this, insurance remains strategic.”
Okechukwu highlighted several ways that insurance can ensure financial stability in the country saying, “Increased health insurance can ensure adequate healthcare for many families and reduce out-of-pocket expenditure.”
He also said that another critical area that insurance could cover is education as this could ensure that parents and guardians save up enough money to ensure stability in the education of their wards.
“If education insurance is taken up, the stability in providing quality education is guaranteed even in the event of the death of parents and guardians,” he added.
“Housing or property insurance is fundamental in ensuring that a great majority of Nigerians have access to affordable shelter and protection against natural or man-made disasters. Effectively, if one is covered by housing insurance, it will ensure easy access to funds in any event. As you know, many families are homeless today because they are financially excluded.”
He further called for aggressive media campaigns to educate Nigerians on the importance of insurance as such campaigns will enrich the knowledge level of both rural and urban populace on the need for insurance.
“Again, efforts must be put in place to create jobs for the teeming youths. More jobs, no doubt, will increase financial access. This is because a reduction in formal employment will lead to reduced disposable income and savings. This will ultimately affect insurance.”
He called on the general public to embrace insurance, stressing this is the key to sustainable financial inclusion.
Also speaking, President, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria, CIIN, Mr. Eddie Efekoha said that it is common knowledge that insurance penetration is nowhere near where it should be in the country. He said: “As practitioners, we can also acknowledge that companies are doing all that they can within the tenets of the law to reach out to customers in order to create a sustained demand for insurance products.
“The question is, are our best efforts enough? What more can we do to improve our lot? “As risk managers, it is our lot to increase the tempo of our campaigns for insurance awareness and professionalism in order to get more people to stand up and take notice and for more Nigerians to embrace insurance as a profession and as a service offering.”
Vanguard