By ROSEMARY ONUOHA

Operators in the insurance industry should put more efforts in the marketing of group credit and retail insurance rather than the usual hot chase that is given to the Compulsory Group Life Scheme for federal civil servants at the beginning of every year.

This is because group credit and retail insurance have the tendency to boost the economy more than the Compulsory Group Life.

Managing Director of FBN Life Assurance, Mr. Val Ojumah, who made the assertion, noted that the Compulsory Group Life insurance is not particularly an attractive line of business, hence the reason why his company is emphasising on group credit and retail.

He said group credit is important because to grow the economy people must borrow money which in turn will require insurance cover. Businesses as well as individuals must borrow money so they need credit support.

He said “We are emphasising group credit as well as retail. Our growth potentials we see more in those areas than in group life because group life is not particularly an attractive line of business. The rates are extremely low, premiums are not paid on time and the claims are very significant.”

Ojumah noted that his company is not running away from the Compulsory Group Scheme, stating “But we are far more selective than we should have been and that is also why we are not emphasising on group life only.”

Explaining why brokers did not include FBN Life as one of the companies underwriting the Group Life Scheme, Ojumah noted that the brokers were only obeying the law which states that a new company must operate for five years before partaking in the Group Life for federal civil servants in the country.

He said “From the point of view of the brokers, I cannot really blame them because some of these things are rules that are written down. If you have five underwriters in a group life policy and the rule says you cannot increase them to six, you cannot irrespective of the fact that it is your friend that you want to help or your former boss or your former colleague that you want to help. I don’t blame the insurance brokers for what they have done. They have told us that those were procedural.”