Introduce poverty alleviation products, LCCI advises insurers

The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry has urged the insurance industry operators to introduce products that can alleviate poverty, as the country moves out of recession.

The President, LCCI, Dr. Nike Akande, said this during a stakeholders’ forum for artisans and other association bodies with the theme, “Reaching the un-reached,” organised by the insurance group of the chamber in Lagos.

She said, “As the Nigerian economy bows out of recession, disposable incomes are going to improve and demand for insurance products is going to improve. Products that must be developed include (but not limited to) health insurance, micro insurance, agriculture insurance and mineral insurance that can assist in alleviating poverty and promote the growth of small to medium-sized enterprises.”

The Chairman, Insurance Trade Group, LCCI, Mr. Gboyega Olanbiwoninu, said the low insurance penetration in Nigeria as well as the industry’s Gross Domestic Product’s contribution to the Nigerian economy at less than one per cent, respectively remained a subject of great concern to all insurance practitioners and stakeholders.

“In our attempt at increasing awareness and deepening insurance penetration, the LCCI Insurance Group carefully selected the theme for the 2017 half year insurance stakeholders’ forum, having identified the opportunities in the blue ocean segment and non-convectional sectors/trade association of the Nigerian insurance market including agricultural sector and other micro-insurance segments, market women associations, the National Union of Road Transport Workers, students and other trade associations and cooperative societies,” he said.