Insurers bank on technology for enhanced customer services, revenue income

As insurance companies in Nigeria continues to seek better ways of improving on the industry market penetration and enhance service delivery, managers of the business said that they will be leveraging on technology to achieve set targets.

Part of the things that insurance executives said that is occupying their attention is the use of technology to block revenue leakages. This they said will help in the realization of earning above a trillion naira premium income in a matter of years. They said that the deployment of technology could see  insurance industry’s market penetration and premium income increase from over N726.2 billion it recorded in year 202 to N1 trillion in 2023,

The president, Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA), Mr. Olusegun Omosehin confirmed this line of though stated this at the just concluded  ‘Insurance Meets Tech 2023’ conference which had as themed: ‘Unlocking Policy and Tech Bottleneck Hindering Disruptive Insurance Penetration in Lagos. According to him, the N1 trillion gross premium has been an age-long target for the industry. He was optimistic that the sub-sector will achieve the feat this year.

The industry, he said, has progressed a lot in the area of technological adoption, while believing that tech and digitalisation will steer the insurance industry to meet its expectations, even as he promised that operators will continue to partner tech companies in a collaboration that will yield positive results.

He stressed that the industry is leveraging technology on adoption of third party motor insurance and has partnered several states including Lagos State to enhance insurance adoption, especially, from motorists in the country.

According to him, “We, as insurance operators, believe technology and digital resolution will enhance insurance operations, deepen penetration and acceptance in the country. To this end, we have collaborated with some state governments, including Lagos State to enhance third party motor insurance adoption.”

He is optimistic that technology is a leveller, a platform that will give the insurance industry the needed breakthrough and that insurance operators are open to its adoption.

Earlier, the convener of the initiative, Odion Aleobua, stressed that, though in the fourth quarter of 2022, insurance industry recorded a staggering N726.2billion in gross premium income, he believes, the industry is merely scratching the surface of what is possible.

Saying the figure is just a testament to the enormous potentials that lies within the industry, he added that, this indicates an industry with the capacity for exponential growth and its collective responsibility to unlock the potential.

” However, when we consider that in the same year, Zenith Bank Plc alone reported N945.5billion in gross earnings in the same economy. It indicates the potential and it is instructive that the Nigerian insurance industry has yet to scratch the surface of what is possible,” Odion, who is also the managing director/CEO of Modion Communications Limited pointed out.

Moreover, he said, the burgeoning success of insurtech with substantial millions of dollars in investment, underscores the importance of embracing technology and innovation to shape the future of insurance in Nigeria.

Insurance Meets Tech 2.0, he said, is a platform to harness the potential as its a gathering of visionaries, innovators, and industry leaders committed to pushing the boundaries at what insurance can acheive in Nigeria.

Similarly, CEO/founder, Caladium Consulting, Ayo Bankole Akintujoye, said, every industry is harnessing the opportunities in technology and insurance cannot be isolated, thereby, calling for a stronger collaboration between the insurers and tech firms to deepen insurance penetration, acceptance and profitability.

Calling on insurers to learn from the banking industry that has led the pace in digitilisation and leveraging on multiple channels to reach out to customers, he urged operators to move with trends to hasten growth and not to be left behind in the scheme of things.

He applauded the maiden edition of the programme which took place last year, expecting that the ongoing conference slated for yesterday and today should outpace the previous one in terms of rich contents, partnership, networking and impact.