NAICOM urges insurance firms to woo customers using innovative products

Determined to help insurance companies in Nigeria to navigate their ways to a bigger market, the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has called for innovative products by insurance operators that will serve the interests of medium and low income bracket in the country.

The Commission said it is possible to achieve improved penetration in the Insurance industry but that will depend on the impact of tailor-made “Takaful” products designed for households and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

The Commissioner for Insurance, Sunday Thomas made this point while delivering the keynote at the Second edition of the WebTV Islamic Finance Webinar.

The webinar, which discussed the theme “Islamic Finance and Insurance”, was an opportunity for regulators, operators and experts to explore how to unlock the growth of Takaful.

Thomas, who was represented by Mr. Zubairu Sulaiman Darazo, the Head, Takaful Unit at the NAICOM, noted that as of Q2,2021, Nigeria had five Takaful companies (four full-fledged and one window) and 120 products approved by NAICOM.

He gave further details on the Takaful segment of the nation’s insurance industry. He said Takaful premium contribution in 2020 was N4bn, which was low in terms of the country’s total gross industry premium.

Thomas, identified lack of awareness and lack of skilled manpower as the challenges stifling the growth of the takaful market in the nation.

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