The Director-General of the Nigerian Insurers Association, Mrs. Bola Odukale, has called for efforts to sustain awareness of insurance among the Nigerian populace.
Odukale made this call when the executive members of the Nigerian Association of Insurance and Pension Editors paid a courtesy visit to her office at the NIA head office in Lagos.
Speaking during the visit, Odukale said, “Image making is part of the business of insurance, especially for an industry like ours that everybody claims much of the time that they don’t know much about. We keep hearing things like ‘We don’t know anything about insurance,’ and the feedback is always like everybody seems to lack knowledge of insurance in its entirety. Everybody seems to be in the dark about insurance or what insurance is all about, and this has been a recurrent decimal as far as the trajectory of the industry is concerned.
“So, what that says to me is that there must be continuous engagement; we must continuously put ourselves in the face of the people. Nobody will say they don’t know what the banks do. A lot of people don’t claim the kind of ignorance about the banking sector like they claim about the insurance sector.”
She went on to emphasise the role of the media in pushing the image of the sector, saying, “The fact remains that the media are part of us and the image makers of the industry. You are a vital part of us as far as this industry is concerned; hence, matters with you cannot be taken with levity. What that means is that we still have a lot of work to do, and we must continuously ensure that we do the right thing, continuously projecting our industry out there and in a very bright light. I am saying that to re-emphasise the fact that you are key to us, and we are also willing to work together with you.”
Sharing her thoughts on the current nationwide enforcement of third-party motor insurance, Odukale said, “The third-party awareness is going to be sustained for the long haul because this is not about third-party but about insurance.
We are bringing insurance awareness closer to the people, even though we are focusing on third-party insurance, it is still talking about insurance, letting people know that there is something called insurance. So, it is not a conversation that we are just going to end in February; it is something we intend to push further and further.
“Talking about this third party has shown that a lot of awareness creation is required. So, we will work with you over the long haul so that we sustain the tempo.”
The NIA is the umbrella organisation for all insurance and reinsurance companies in Nigeria. It was established in 1971 to offer its members a forum to speak to one another and for all of them to speak with one voice to the government, its agencies, and other parties on matters affecting the insurance business.
