Tony Elumelu, CON, Chairman, Heirs Holdings and United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA), has canvassed a vibrant, well capitalised and deep insurance sector for Nigeria’s economy.
In a keynote address at the 60th anniversary of the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) conference held in Lagos, Elumelu said the nation needed an industry that is professional and can catalyse investment in key sectors such as power, infrastructure and housing.
“Not least in these testing times, our people need financial security, secure savings and protection against uncertainty. Our industry needs to offer simple, smart products, that give value and deliver.
“We need an industry that is professional and can catalyse investment in key sectors such as power, infrastructure and housing,” he said.
Congratulating the NCRIB on its anniversary and the role it has played in the industry, Elumelu stated there was no room for complacency with the sector needing to regain trust, stamp down on malpractice and fundamentally evolve its customer proposition to deepen the insurance penetration.
The Chairman of Heirs Holdings, who joined other prominent guests at the occasion including Commissioner for Insurance and the President of NCRIB, emphasised the commitment of Heirs Holdings to the insurance industry.
He said: “Our two insurance companies, Heirs Life Assurance and Heirs Insurance Limited, are both leading democratisation of access to insurance – which is a tool for financial inclusion, employment creation, poverty eradication and female advancement.
“In a country of two hundred million, we can, should and must be more relevant than we are today. I am an optimist, not a pessimist.
“I know that times are tough, but together we can, and we will transform our industry, create value, and provide solutions that demonstrate the value of insurance to our people.”
Reiterating Elumelu’s position, Mr Sunday Thomas, the Commissioner for Insurance, called for more collaborative effort in enabling access to insurance, saying that the industry could do more in this regard.
“It is a fundamental truth that the insurance sector exists for other sectors to thrive. A lot has been achieved, but there is still more work to be done.
“Until insurance becomes the oxygen that homes and other industries breathe, and a subject that is known to everyone, we have not arrived”.
In his address of welcome, the President of NCRIB, Barrister Rotimi Edu, appreciated Elumelu for delivering the keynote speech at the event, while making a commitment on behalf of the Council to further deepen insurance penetration in Nigeria.
“The Council is already creating avenues through strategic engagements with notable governmental and non-governmental institutions to deepen the industry in the country,” he said.
Heirs Insurance and Heirs Life are lead sponsors of the NCRIB 60th anniversary alongside investment group United Capital Plc and healthcare management company, Avon HMO, all investee companies of Heirs Holdings, a pan-African investment group, with a portfolio spread across 24 African countries and four continents.
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