By Rosemary Onuoha

Executive Director of Leadway Assurance Company Limited, Ms. Adetola Adegbayi, has urged insured Nigerians to always demand for claims from their insurers whenever an insured risk occurs. Adegbayi stated this during a media training organised by Leadway Assurance for insurance correspondents in Lagos.

Leadway Inssurance

Adegbayi said that most Nigerians that buy insurance policies are ignorant on when and how to make claims, adding that, instead of going to their insurers to make claims, they rather  bear the financial burden themselves.

According to her some over-ambitious  operators cash in on this loophole to rate-cut policies with the assumption that the insured will not demand for  claims if the risk occurs.

In the event of claims, she said, these overzealous underwriters do default, since the premium charged does not reflect the actual value of the products. Adegbayi stressed that rate-cutting can be fought by Nigerians, if they begin to request for claims on their insurance policies, stating that when this happens, underwriters would sit up and charge the normal rates that can sustain them when claims arise.

Explaining that an insurance company would be sanctioned if it defaults in claims obligations, she charged Nigerians to report defaulting underwriting firms to regulatory authorities, promising necessary steps would be taken to pay claims to the aggrieved insured.

Explaining the benefits of Hospital Cash Insurance Plan, one of the microinsurance products of Leadway, she said that in the event of hospitalisation due to illness for more than two days, the insured is entitled to daily benefits payable up to a maximum of 20 days during the policy period.

In the event of hospitalisation arising from accidental injury for consecutive period of more than two days, she said, daily benefits is payable up to a maximum of 15 days during the policy period.

Head, Retail Business, Leadway Assurance, Mr. Tunji Amokade, said the future of insurance industry lies in the retail market, noting that, the commercial market is saturated.

Speaking on  ‘Micro Insurance Business in Nigeria’ he said that despite the huge population the country is blessed with, low insurance penetration is still a major issue.

“The problem of penetration is because we are cash-based economy unlike other countries that are credit-based,” he said.

According to him, the success of insurance in South Africa, Kenya, Morroco, and so on is as a result of their credit-based economy, stating that until Nigeria borrow a leaf from these countries, low penetration will continue.