STUDY OF THE INSURANCE SERVICES IN NIGERIA

INTRODUCTION

Insurance service providers safeguard against risks. Any device aimed at reducing the chance of a risk occurring, when it happens, reducing the extent of it’s damage and providing the affected person with compensation is a form of insurance. Insurance as a modern concept for solving risk related problems depends on co-operation of a large number of people for it’s success. This service does not claim that  a loss cannot be sustained if one has an insurance cover or

protection, rather it guarantees that should the unexpected happen within the specified period, the insurer shall compensate the insured in accordance to the contract terms. The compensation payable is nothing other than financial assistance. The insured pay premium as a consideration to the insurer periodically. Nigeria is a country with a very large potentials for the insurance market; yet is not doing well due to some factors or things they have failed to do.

REASONS FOR THEIR UNDER PERFORMANCE

One of the earlier the most resilient problems the insurance industry has been contending with and will continue to contend with is the problem of ignorance of the benefits of insurance products. Many do not know what insurance is all about, Even the educated ones. Some believe insurance is a smart way of extorting money from the people. The problems created by some dubious practitioners who will collect premium without remitting same to the appropriate quarters do not help matters either. Insurance they say encourage savings but what we see in the Nigerian insurance market is the direct opposite of it. Civil service retires who took life insurance for which they hope to enjoy their pension upon retirement are not finding it funny. Some of them die out of the frustration they get while trying to get their pensions paid. Some retired Federal Civil Servants Complain that those they retired at the same rank with are receiving higher pensions than they themselves.

How then will the public trust a system that at the moment is unfair to some group of individuals. One of the secondary functions of insurance Services is security, the more fact that an investor knows that if anything happens to him, the insurance Company will provide security for the risk insured, this makes the investor to invest more but in reality, it is very difficult for providers of insurance services to perform this function in the event of a mishap. Some insurance firms who engage in sharp practices, either delay the payment of compensation or even the insurance decide to pay, they under compensate the insurance i.e they wouldn’t lay up to the supposed amount. The insurance companies in Nigeria are guilty of not forming their social responsibility in the society they find themselves. Their social responsiveness to their immediate society is in a partial state, this factor, is also a reason why their services have not been fully welcomed in the Nigerian market. The documents involved before an insurance conduct can be entered into is very intimidating and scarce away the uneducated and a large percentage of the people who need these service fall into this group, due to their. Inability to read and write, they wouldn’t know in full detail what is contained in the polices of the insurance company.

THE WAY FORWARD

It is believed that insurance practitioners especially the brokers will still need to do more in insurance products, especially in educating the public on the numerous benefits of insurance products and how such benefits can be harnessed. This will need intensive campaign at the grassroots level. Inadequate efforts in this direction have detailed the huge premium that we are expecting from the insuring public. Hence the old attitudes the insurance that was based on ignored keeps rearing it’s ugly head against the growth of the industry, especially the broking sub-sector. The age old religious belief that God is the best insurance. However, we have to note the fact that insurance is God’s creation though man to address a wide variety of human needs, particularly the antidote is appropriate  product development and aggressive Campaign.

Secondly the regulators of the insurance services should do more in ensuring that insurance practitioners compensate the insured or their beneficiaries as at when due, because this will go a long way in building a good image for the sector and further increase patronage from the public which will be as a result of the public having trust in them knowing that their money are not stolen from them but been kept for them in a place safe and indirectly they will be ready for the unforeseen mishap.

In fulfillment of their social responsibility, it is important that operators of the insurance sector should develop loss prevention techniques, educating road users on road safety, identifying  with fire fighters, sponsorship of tournaments, philanthropic  actions, award of scholarships to students, contributing views in shaping the political and social  ideologies of  the society

 

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