By Omobola Tolu-Kusimo
Epileptic power supply and crash in price of crude oil in the last one year has caused insurance companies to contend with the lingering energy crisis leading to increase in cost of operation for the insurance industry.
This was made known by the umbrella body of insurance companies in the country, the Nigeria Insurers Association (NIA).
Its Director-General, Mrs. Yetunde Ilori, who spoke at the weekend, said the industry being part of the larger financial sector has had its fair share of the challenges in the course of the year
She stated that dilapidated infrastructure such as roads, railways and other public facilities coupled with a suffocating tax regime as well as the internecine conflicts in the Northeast and the growing incidents of kidnaping all contributed to affect the bottom line of the companies.
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But despite these challenges, she noted that the industry continues to perform its role of financial intermediation and business restoration in line with its mandate.
She said the volume of business written by the market grew from N413.8billion in 2018 to about N490 billion in 2019, representing an increase of 15.55 per cent over 2018 figure.
She said: “It is expected that the various initiatives embarked on by the association in conjunction with other stakeholders such as financial inclusion, micro insurance, the industry rebranding project, the association’s USSD initiative and the Nigerian Insurance Industry Platform for sale of Third Party Motor Insurance coupled with other strategic efforts by the regulator will further deepen insurance penetration and encourage insurance uptake by the public.”
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