SPEECH PRESENTED AT IPEN INSURANCE & PENSION ROUNDTABLE 2023 BY IPEN CHAIRMAN, CHUKS UDO OKONTA AT RADINSON HOTEL IN GRA, IKEJA, LAGOS ON THURSDAY, 23RD OF NOVEMBER 2023.
Our Special Guests, the Commissioner for Insurance/CEO, NAICOM, Mr. Olorundare Sunday Thomas and the Director General, National Pension Commission (PenCom), Mrs. Aisha Dahiru-Ahmed;
Our Chairman of the Occasion, the President of the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers(NCRIB), Mr. Babatunde Oguntade;
Our Keynote Speaker, the Director, Centre for Pension Rights Advocacy (CPRA), Mr. Takor Ivor;
Our Panelists, Distinguished insurance and pension operators. Associations, consumers’ groups, other critical stakeholders present, Gentlemen of the Press, Ladies and Gentlemen.
It’s indeed an honour standing before you this morning at this August Occasion in November though, and all praises and adoration goes to Almighty God and our sponsors who believed and still believe in our concept of developmental journalism.
Chairman,
Insurance And Pension Editors of Nigeria.
(IPEN)
When the Insurance and Pension Editors of Nigeria(IPEN) group was conceptionalised about 10 months ago, the motive was to birth developmental journalism in the insurance and pension sectors, such that, rather than being the regular watchdogs which journalists were called, decided to also be the advocate of the same sectors we report. Hence, our main targets were the consumers and consumers’ groups some of which were represented here.
For the records, the Insurance and Pension Editors of Nigeria(IPEN) is a group of developmental journalists who have decades of experience reporting the insurance and pension sectors nationally and internationally.
So, immediately, we came onboard, we embarked on series of visits to these consumers’ groups to tell their stories on their perception and interactions with insurance and pension products and services.
In this journey, we visited the Amalgamation of Computer Village Associations in Ikeja, Lagos, after which we proceeded to Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria(ISAN) who is a group of investors of insurance companies. Similarly, we met the executives of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry(LCCI), who is a group of insurance and pension consumers, even as we visited Guild of Marine Surveyors to understand their pain points and success stories they had while using both insurance and pension services. We equally paid courtesy visits to NCRIB, Hilal Takaful, among others in this regards.
While most of the feedback were not palatable, few had good memories of how these two good concepts shaped their lives for the better and forever. These feedback , we took to operators and regulators which we expect, will enhance service deliveries to consumers in both sectors, going forward.
It was in this direction that we felt it was necessary to have a gathering such as this where we have critical stakeholders in this value-Chain to address the pain points of consumers, hence, the theme: ‘Consumer Satisfaction, Key To Insurance and Pension Sectors Growth.’
The theme is apt as insurance and pension sectors are repositioning to offer consumers better service delivery to deepen penetration.
Although, the insurance industry is expected to hit N1trillion Premium income target in the current 2023 financial year, a feat that was expected to have been achieved 8 years ago, precisely in 2015, the pension funds asset in the kitty of the pension sector are expected to surpass N18 trillion by the end of the outgoing year. Yes, these are and will be great achievements, however, they were long overdue as this is barely scratching the surface of potentials and opportunities that are existing in both sectors.
For the insurance sector, several reasons have been adduced for poor insurance penetration in Nigeria ranging from the country’s peculiar market environment, limited public awareness and negative public perception by those who are unaware of insurance. But in the reality, inadequate service delivery is a major challenge to why insurance acceptance has been very low.
On the other hand, the need for service delivery in the pension sector is key for the overall success of and sustainability of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), considering its retail nature. Achieving service excellence in the sector is a collective effort by all stakeholders to ensure enhanced service delivery.
To this end, experts from the insurance and pension sectors as well as relevant stakeholders, including consumer groups have been invited to deliberate on the theme extensively.
Similarly, participants at this event stand a chance to win free Insurance cover, under the Insurfeel initiative of Inspenonline,
Insurfeel was designed in line with – ‘The Suya Seller Strategy’ – which entails tasting before buying. It stemmed from a research conducted which showed that people who have had positive experience on how insurance works seem to believe and easily embraced the system.
I mustn’t end my speech without thanking our sponsors who believe in our concept and has supported us morally and financially.
The supporting institutions include: the National Pension Commission(PenCom), the National Insurance Commission(NAICOM) Consolidated Hallmark Insurance (CHI) Plc, International Energy Insurance (IEI) Plc, AIICO Insurance Plc, Coronation Insurance Plc, LASACO Assurance Plc, Leadway Assurance Company Limited, Capital Express Assurance Limited, Sovereign Trust Insurance (STI) Plc, NSIA Insurance Company Limited, Cornerstone Insurance Plc, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN), Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokens (NCRIB) and NPF Pensions Limited. We didn’t take your gesture for granted.
So, let’s pay undivided attention to the discussions of this forum, with the hope that at the end of this conference, we must have solved the puzzle of insurance and pension consumers.
I want to also sincerely say kudos to the IPEN unique family. Our esteemed Honorable Vice President Ms. Ngozi Onyeakusi played a major role in seeing that this event works. The Secretary General Zaka Khalid our able content producer did what he knows to do best. The Director of event Mrs. Omobola Tolu-Kusimo, who in spite the tears in her eyes over the lost of her dad recently, stood tall to ensure everything is in order. The treasurer, our own Madam, B – Mrs. Bisi Bamishe, brought out her motherly wisdom in handling our finances and other matters. For the Honorable Adviser, Mr Prince Cookey, he has continued to teach us the need to be time conscious. His counsels remain our guidelines. I really love this beloved family.
Thank you all for finding time out of your busy schedule to attend this event. Good morning.
