Finance Minister, Mrs Kemi Adeosun has urged insurance industry to recapitalize to reposition the sector, this is coming nine years after the last recapitalization of the industry.
The minister made this remark on Monday at the opening ceremony of the National Insurance Conference organised by the sector’s Insurance Industry Consultative Council (IICC) held at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja.
“The principal objective of the reform is to have emergence of bigger and stronger players with enhanced capacity, restoration of confidence of the public, enhance the international competitiveness of local operators.
Mrs Adeosun added that the industry was under-performing, compared to its global and African peers
She identified low awareness, unhealthy competition, lack of innovation among others as part of the factors responsible for the under-performance of the sector, noting that less than 23 advertised their products, out of 57 insurance companies in the country.
“There is need to immediately address the issues responsible for the under-performance “because a 0. 33 per cent increase in insurance penetration can result to a growth of 0.5 per cent in GDP and is capable of creating over 70,000 jobs annually.”
“As insurers, you need to take a risk and recapitalise. The industry manages risk and they must be ready to take risk themselves. There is no alternative. The industry is evolving and I see the opportunities. But the challenge is for you to take concrete actions that need to be taken quickly for us to realise the potential of the industry.”
