Niyi Onifade, CEO, Heirs Life

By Ngozi Onyeakusi—The huge number of internet users in Nigeria has  presented  an opportunity to leverage technology for retail distribution of life insurance products in the country.

The  MD/CEO, Heirs Life Assurance (HLA), Niyi Onifade, observed this at  the recently concluded annual retreat of the Nigerian Insurers Association Life Offices Committee.
He said this while delivering a lecture to key stakeholders in the life insurance sector on “ICT tools as channels of life products distribution and servicing in a digital age”,

He  encouraged life insurance practitioners to embrace technological tools and automation to facilitate accessibility and enhance customer experience.

A Fellow of the Chartered Insurance Institute, London, and Nigeria, respectively and an Alumnus of the renowned Lagos Business School, Onifade reiterated the power of the internet in today’s business world.   He spoke on customer preferences, advocating for the creation of simple and understandable life insurance products, noting that the attention span of the policyholders of today is short.

According to him, “the old-school physical distribution methods through brokers and agents is still relevant, but our process can be greatly enhanced digitally. Predictive and behavioural analytics could help serve customers with the relevant life insurance policies suited to their life stage even before they realise that they need life insurance.”

Concluding his presentation, Onifade charged the professionals to embrace an open-insurance, digital-led, insurance distribution and servicing system, highlighting the progress Heirs Life Assurance has made in digitally serving its retail customers which constitute about 70% of its portfolio.

Heirs Life Assurance (HLA) is a specialist life insurance company offering simple, quick, accessible, and reliable life insurance, retirement, and children’s education protection plans. HLA offers a wide range of personalised life insurance protection and investment plans that provide financial security to individuals and businesses. Heirs Life is a subsidiary of Heirs Holdings, a pan-African investment group with presence across 4 continents and 23 African countries.