Nigerian insurers need to win consumer trust to counter difficult market

The summit took place in Lagos under the theme: ‘Managing Risks in a Depressed Economy: The Case of Nigeria’. The theme underscores the scenario of declining premium against a backdrop of rising incidence and cost of risks, as insurers battle to remain afloat in a difficult business environment. The lead paper – ‘The Role of PR in Growing Insurance Business in Nigeria – was anchored by noted public relations (PR) expert, Dr Phil Osagie, who focused on PR skills of informing people, persuading people and integrating people with people.hideDr Osagie presented some eye-opening statistics: Only one in ten Nigerians have any form of insurance cover – which leaves more than 150 million Nigerians without insurance Less than 2% of insurable risks are covered by insurance Vehicle/car insurance accounts for 63% of all insurance bought Less than 3% of the entire adult population has any formal insurance cover There are 17 million vehicles on Nigerian roads, including 14 million suspected to have fake insurance. He went on to suggest some ways in which PR will support insurance growth: Raise awareness and understanding Manage attitudes and concerns Enhance desire for insurance via the ‘likeability’ factor It is an essential component in the Four Ps of marketing It has a strategic brand-building role It offers crisis management and confidence restoration. “In today’s world, publicity is everything of course, along with a quality service or product. To earn consumers’ trust, companies rely heavily on marketing strategists but they also rely heavily on PR specialists,” explained Dr Osagie. He expanded on the PR-driven insurance growth model: PR as a marketing communication tool: PR has a great role to play in the marketing of insurance products and building the public image of the industry PR as a relationship builder: Building and maintaining productive relations with customers Crisis/damage control: PR helps insurance business in times of crisis through specialised writing and communication to stakeholders Increase goodwill of the public: PR will increase the goodwill towards insurance from various public sectors, through promotional communication and other categories PR as an educational tool: PR is one of the means insurance firms can use to inform and educate members of its target audience about the existence of its products and services, and to persuade them to use them or develop a favourable attitude and opinion towards them. PR as a management function: PR is an important management function in any insurance organisation. Chief Yemi Soladoye, technical adviser to the Insurance Consumers Association of Nigeria, delivered a paper on ‘The Consumer – King or Servant in Insurance Business?’, emphasising the supremacy of the consumer as the driving force for any business, including insurance. “The Nigerian insurance industry basically has no consumers. It only has indirect consumers because the market concentrates mainly on the government and corporate accounts, dealing with public servants and corporate executives whose definition of good customer service is predicated on other parameters,” said Mr Soladoye.

Nigerian insurers need to win consumer trust to counter difficult market

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