Matthew Otoijagha
The Insurers Committee, an association of insurers and the regulatory body- National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), has commenced a N300 million rebranding project, aimed at changing the negative perception of the public towards insurance business.
The move is aimed at increasing the number of consumers from 37 million to more than 150 million of the country’s population. The Vice Chairman of the Publicity Sub-Committee of the insurers, who is also the Managing Director, NSIA Insurance Company Limited, Ebelechukwu Nwachukwu, said at a conference in Lagos that the nationwide campaign to rebrand the insurance industry had already kicked off.
She added that the committee had set out seven cardinal goals that will be vigorously pursued to take the industry to lofty heights and contribute meaningfully to the economy’s development. Nwachukwu noted that owing to the low contribution of the insurance sector to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which stands at 0.06 per cent and the poor perception of the general public towards insurance, the industry is yet to make its mark on the economy.
However, he explained that having put all the necessary requirements in place now, insurers are now set to launch the project, which is expected to transform insurance operations in the country. The initiative, according to the committee, will be driven via social media, print and electronics, but greater attention will be on the social media due to the youth population.
It would be recalled that to promote the project, NAICOM has contributed N40 million, while most companies have also made their contributions towards the initiative.
Earlier, insurance operators had agreed to raise 50 per cent of the funds budgeted for the rebranding project from companies’ gross premium income, while the balance of 50 per cent is to be shared evenly from profits realized by insurers.