2018 2nd Quarter: Insurance industry records 6 .07 per cent growth — NAICOM

THE National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) on Wednesday said the Nigerian Insurance Industry recorded a 6.07 per cent growth in the second quarter of this year.

The Spokesperson of NAICOM, Mr Abdulrasaq Abdusalami, confirmed the industry’s percentage growth in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

NAN reports that the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) had on Sept. 15, revealed the growth in insurance sector while expatiating on the industry’s profile.

The NBS also said that the industry contributed 0.4 per cent to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2017, while total insurance premium hit N376 billion.

The NAICOM spokesman, however, said that the commission was well positioned to address both internal and external forces to enable the industry increase insurance penetration and its GDP contribution.

According to him, the internal and external forces identified by the commission include a dearth of appropriate human capital and professional skills and poor returns on capital and too many fringe players.

“Incidences of rate cutting; corporate governance issue; insurance premium flight; lack of innovation in product development; lack of awareness on the part of consumers on the suitability of insurance products, and low GDP per capita figures are responsible for the development,” he said.

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Abdusalami said the commission would maintain its financial inclusion strategy to increase insurance penetration to 40 per cent by 2020, noting that insurance penetration and density remain low.

He added that NAICOM had boosted its supervisory profile by issuing a new consumer protection policy called the “Market Conduct Guideline”.

“The commission is driven by the need to expand the market frontiers for insurance sector growth,” he said.