The Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) has restated its commitment to increasing insurance awareness and senstitisation exercise, in a bid to deepen penetration in the country.

Speaking during a courtesy visit of the new executives of the National Association of Insurance and Pension Correspondents (NAIPCO) to the council’s headquarter in Alagomeji, Yaba, Lagos, its president, Mrs. Bola Onigbogi, promised to work with the new executives of NAIPCO to increase insurance acceptance as well as its contribution to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product(GDP).

According to her, a lot of Nigerians are still ignorant of what values insurance can bring to their respective lives, while some still habour the misconception that insurance companies don’t pay claims, hence, the need to drive awareness and education from the media perspective to change this narrative.

She believes that the growth of insurance industry requires collective efforts, saying, the media is critical and an important stakeholder in the journey to develop the insurance segment of the nation’s economy.

While appreciating the efforts of NAIPCO members in their drive to educate Nigerians through their informed write-ups and news reporting, she urged them to be positive in reporting as the death of the industry will also negatively reflect on the reporters covering the sector.

She applauded the current executives for embarking on series of projects aimed at complementing the efforts of Insurance companies and brokers to deepen Insurance penetration and acceptance, promising that, the council will, just as it has done in the past, continue to support the association in its plans to grow and develop the sector.

Similarly, the vice president, NCRIB, Mr. Tunde Oguntade, said, the relationship between the council and the media, especially, insurance correspondents, has always been positive, promising to extend such gesture to the current executives of NAIPCO, so that, together, they can grow the industry.
“We have had a cordial relationship with your predecessors and the current executives at NCRIB are ever ready to support you to succeed in all your plans. We need to positively project the industry and we, the brokers, are already doing that through our several initiatives,” he pointed out.
Moreover, the executive secretary, NCRIB, Mr. Fatai Adegbenro, said both the media and the council are critical stakeholders and must together work to grow the industry.

Insurance, he said, drives the economy in advanced countries, stating that, this is a point Nigeria must aspire to be, through increased contribution to the nation’s GDP, saying, “we are all stakeholders in the industry and the public tends to believe anything that comes from the media, hence, the need to throw caution, so as not to feed the public with lies or hearsay. The role of journalists is to inform and we must give the right information to the people yearning for information.”

Earlier, the president, NAIPCO, Mr. Chuks Udo Okonta, said, his administration is embarking on developmental journalism, which involves providing critical answers to issues affecting the insurance industry.

The motive of this style of journalism, he stressed, is to grow the sector through increased searchlights on the operations of Insurance companies, brokers and other players to ensure that they are playing their respective roles effectively.

On Company Profiling, a product of the current administration, he said, the association will profile the management, claims or/and product of an underwriting firm, write about it in the most subtle language and human angle perspective to ensure the public truly understands the operations of insurance companies in the country.

Similarly, he listed other programmes of the association, which includes: the NAIPCO Annual National Conference, Trumpet Journal, Advert To News Initiative(ATN), among others.