By Favour Nnabugwu

Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, Ms Arunma  Oteh has described insurance as absolutely essential to the transformation of the Nigerian economy and the capital market.

This is even as Oteh applauded the transformation in the Nigerian insurance sector which she said has given the sector a face lift from what it was years back.

Oteh who spoke during a television propgramme “Eye on Nigeria’s Capital Market” on CBNC Africa monitored in Abuja, said the insurance sector had often been instrumental to the growth of several economies in the world.

According to her,  ”With a population of 170 million people, the market has enormous potentials especially as reforms take hold with respect to group life insurance and other pension related products”

“I think the focus on micro insurance is exciting because one of the challenges of our country is that not as many of the 170 million people participate in the economy and I believe that helping us to understand micro insurance better is important.

What we want is for Nigerians to be able to participate in the economy and I believe that micro insurance is absolutely essential in that regard. If we do not focus on micro insurance, we will not transform our society,” Oteh said.

The SEC boss further said, “We believe that as SEC, the apex regulator of the Nigerian capital market, the transformation in the insurance sector is critical for the transformation of Nigeria.

I don’t think that despite the fact that we have had the insurance industry existing for several years that people realise the importance of insurance to our lives, whether it is agriculture, whether it is housing, among others.

The housing sector in America was strengthened because of mono line insurance, because of credit enhancement that insurance provides. Insurance had become critical for better living conditions including health insurance, which permeates society.”