By Providence Emmanuel & Emmanuel Elebeke
INDICATIONS have emerged that less than 1.5 million Nigerians hold insurance policy, representing 0.9 percent of a population of over 170 million citizens.

Similarly, the gross premium (income) of the insurance sector is put at about N500 billion in 2016, implying that the sector contributes less than one percent to gross domestic products, GDP.

The Minister of Communications, Barrister Adebayo Shittu, gave these indications at the e-Insurance conference with the theme: “Driving Insurance Penetration with ICT” held in Lagos, last week, where he lamented that the insurance sector, despite being a major driver of business growth while providing critical support system to the financial markets in developed economies, has not fared well in Nigeria given the current size of the Nigerian economy and population.

However, Shittu launched the ‘insurancemarket.ng,’ an online marketplace where insurance companies can sell their packages along with other electronic devices such as laptops and phones.

He stated: “We applaud the modest yet innovative effort and call on other ICT companies to develop more solutions that will drive the adoption of insurance across the country, while providing wealth creation opportunities to our teeming unemployed youth.”

Continued, Shittu said it becomes worrisome that only such a very small percentage have subscribed to any form of insurance package where Nigeria has achieved 105 percent telephone penetration, 55 percent internet penetration and 23 percent bank account penetration.

“It is my firm belief that with the right policies and enabling environment, the cross-cutting nature of ICT can be harnessed to drive growth and expansion of the insurance sector through the adoption of a number of processes such as: improved operational efficiency (including smooth communication between clients and company officials); office automation and optimization; among others,” he said.

Director General/CEO, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, added that over the years ICT’s have become an important tool not only for business but also for governance and personal use, stressing that the ICT has been used to enhance various financial platforms and also been deployed to enhance the insurance industry.

He said that the ICTs can be integrated into the insurance process via big data analytics: a process of analyzing vast amounts of data in order to identify patterns, trends and other business information that can aid decision makers to make informed decisions.

“e-insurance holds a lot of promise and we at NITDA will be happy to have the recommendations as we formulate guidelines and develop strategies for the use of information technology in all sectors of the economy.”

On the other hand, Managing Director, Pinet Informatics, developers of the product, Mr. Lanre Ajayi, said that the idea to hold an e-insurance conference came on realization that the insurance industry in Nigeria has not optimally benefitted from the huge opportunities offered by information and communication technologies.

Pinet Informatics is Nigeria’s internet service provider, convinced that with proper applications of ICT tools in insurance industry the industry can be completely turned around making it a major contributor to the national economy.