Matthew Otoijagha
If infrastructures in country are properly equipped, it will have positive impact on insurance operations and reduce avoidable losses recorded in insurance claims.
This is submission of the Group Managing Director/CEO, NEM Insurance Plc, Mr. Tope Smart, while speaking on the theme, ‘Infrastructure & economic growth: Exploring the strategic alliance’, at the 10th anniversary lecture and awards of Business Journal in Lagos.
“Research has equally shown that there is a linkage between insurance, infrastructure and economic growth. For example, investment in infrastructure leads to good quality of life. This automatically leads to decrease in mortality rate and consequently reduces death claims under life insurance”, he said.
He strongly believe that good roads would reduce number of accidents on the roads thereby leading to reduction in claims on motor insurance, goods in transit insurance and group personal accident insurance, among others.
Consequently, this will guarantee stronger and a healthier insurance industry. Speaking further, he assured that availability of data would help in generation and preparation of good statistics that would be useful in preparing rate guides for insurance, adding that investment in infrastructure would result in the growth of the economy of any nation.
“The attendant insurance needs resulting from such economic growth will be to the benefit of the insurance industry,” Smart added.
Earlier in his presentation, the Publisher/Chief Executive Officer, Business Journal, Prince Cookey said that, “Our decision to situate the theme on the relationship between infrastructure and economic growth is to send a clear message to key stakeholders (political, economic, and social) in the Nigeria project that our nation cannot achieve sustainable economic growth without sustainable investment in infrastructure. We need infrastructure to grow the economy and move our society forward.”