By Sola Alabadan
The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) is striving to reduce the insurance gap in Nigeria from 94 percent to 70 percent within the shortest time possible, Head, Corporate Communications and Market Development, Rasaaq Salami, said.
Insurance protection gap is the difference between the amount of insurance that is economically beneficial and the amount of coverage actually purchased.
Salami, who presented a paper on “NAICOM’s Market Development Initiatives:The Journey so far” at the retreat in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, stated that the commission is targeting an increase in insurance industry Gross Premium Income from N630 billion in 2021 to N6 Trillion by 2030.
Similarly, he said with the various efforts being made, the insurance contribution to GDP is expected to increase from 0.4 percent to over 3.0 percent within the next few years.
Besides, it is expected that over 250,000 new jobs would have been created at the end of the day, while insurance consumer trust and confidence in the sector would have improved considerably.
The commission is equally confident that the various efforts would help in promoting insurance as a tool for stimulating growth of other sectors and raise funds for project development at the Federal and State levels.
Salami assured that going forward, the Commission will be embarking on full implementation of the its Strategic Plan.
It would be recalled that the Governing Board of NAICOM had on April 9, 2021, approved the commission’s 2021 – 2023 corporate strategic plan. The approval became necessary as NAICOM’s corporate strategic plan 2016 –2020 ended the previous year.
NAICOM said it established the Strategic Plan with the objective of translating its Vision, Mission and Values into actionable and measurable goals, objectives, initiatives and activities.
The plan will also provide direction for both long- and short-term decision-making by the Board for implementation by Senior Management in order to fulfil the mission of the Organisation.
It will also enable them to make strategic efforts in ensuring adequate protection of the policyholders, beneficiaries and third parties to insurance contracts and also deepen insurance market penetration.
The Strategic Plan is subject to periodic review and performance monitoring within its life span by NAICOM Board.
The Strategic Plan is hinged on five pillars, namely: Ensuring that public interest and policyholders are adequately protected, Entrenching effective and efficient deliverables, ensuring a safe and sound Insurance sector, Improving Trust and Encouraging innovation and promoting Insurance market development.
