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Tag: Insurance

  • Insurance is solution to small businesses’ problems, says ILO

    Insurance can form a major solution to constraints faced by small businesses across the world, Alice Merry of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has said.

    She said this in a paper titled: “Insurance for Small Businesses” made available to The Nation by ILO Impact Insurance Facility.

    She said despite significant efforts by governments across the world to improve infrastructure, competency, among others, the risks that small businesses face, such as weather events, health problems, or theft of their stock, are often left largely unaddressed.

    She noted that insurance cannot address all of those risks, but it can address many of them. According to her, a range of solutions will be needed to overcome the constraints faced by small businesses.

    She said: “Governments can introduce regulation that is more supportive of small businesses, access to credit can be improved, more reliable electricity and internet access can be installed, and business skills training can improve management practices. Efforts to implement such improvements are underway across the world.”

    Speaking on financial protection, she said insurance allows businesses to avoid the financial consequences of certain risks. “Whereas a sudden and unexpected shock can take an uninsured business over the brink, an insured business is able to handle the shock and continue to operate,” she said.

    Merry, however, noted that small businesses represent the next target for insurers aiming to reach those who remain underserved in developing countries. She added that many providers would have had success with basic personal products, yet the evolution from success with these products to successful products for small businesses is not automatic.

    “Serving small businesses comes with a host of new challenges. These can be better tackled by first taking a close look at the experiences and successes of pioneers in the field.

    “During numerous interviews with insurers, challenges in offering insurance to small businesses emerged in three main clusters. And, though most insurers continue to face a range of difficulties, they were also finding ways to overcome them,” she said.

    She continued: “Insurance for small businesses poses many issues common to personal microinsurance products such as offering affordable products at sustainable rates for the insurance provider. Many of the facility’s publications cover these topics, and much of the advice in them will be very relevant for insurance for small businesses. This paper, however, focuses on the challenges and solutions which are distinctive to serving the small business market.

    “Given their economic importance, support for small businesses is clearly vital. A great deal of good work is already being done, from training courses to increasing access to credit.

    “However, if we do not also help small businesses manage the risks they face, an important piece of the puzzle remains missing. Insurance is certainly not a complete solution – as shown at the start of the paper, small businesses face a range of risks; insurance offers a solution to some of them. However, when well integrated with other interventions to boost the capacity of small businesses, improve the environment in which they operate, and reduce the risks they face, better insurance provision could provide a significant boost for small businesses.

    “On the other hand, small businesses also represent a promising market for insurers. Business owners have higher awareness of the risks they face and greater familiarity with formal or informal financial services than other parts of the population. Many insurers have shown that it is possible to serve this market at scale, and many of the lessons that they have learnt in doing so can support others hoping to do the same.”

  • Fed Govt seeks states’ support to enforce compulsory insurance

    Fed Govt seeks states’ support to enforce compulsory insurance

    •Collaborates with Ogun State

    The Federal Government is  working with state governments to key into compulsory insurance, the Commissioner for Insurance, National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Alhaji Mohammed Kari, has said.

    Kari,who spoke during the Annual seminar for Business Editors and Insurance Correspondents in Abeokuta, over the weekend, said NAICOM was collaborating with the Ogun State government, noting that more visits to other states would continue within the year.

    He said the enforcement of the compulsory insurance at the states’ level would open big opportunities for the industry and the economy in employment, resources and, most importantly, protection of public assets of the states and public interest.

    Citing the various fire outbreak and collapsed buildings in the country, he said such risk could have been protected by the compulsory insurance.

    The NAICOM boss affirmed that insurance losses would reduce drastically if the issue of compulsory insurance is taken seriously.

    He said: “Discussions are already going on with some state governments on the need to adopt compulsory insurances, of which Ogun State is part of. The commission will extend such crusade to other states of the federation, as this would ensure that the motive of the Market Development and Restructuring Initiative (MDRI) is achieved.

    “Our motive is to ensure that all the 36 states, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), comply with these insurance.”

    He also disclosed that the commission was working with the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN) and other relevant operators to create additional distribution channels aimed at increasing insurance penetration to all sector of the population.

    He added that instead of relying only on brokers and agents these new additional channels would help to increase access to insurance across the country.

    “The commission is equally discussing with insurance market operators, to see how the industry can be expanded using other additional channels to sell insurance products and services. Sakeholders are seriously working to deepen insurance market, in a bid to contribute more to economic growth of the country,” he noted.

    Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun has urged NAICOM to stop fake insurance policies in circulation.

    Amosun stated this when the top management of the NAICOM  visited at his Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta office.

    He expressed concern that Nigeria has not taken full advantage of the sector.

    “We need to beef up the contribution of the sector to the nation’s economy. We have not taken full advantage of the insurance sector in Nigeria,” he said.

    The governor added: “Nigeria is not bereft of ideas. The problem is that of implementation. For instance, we need to stop fake insurance policies in circulation. It will be in the best interest of the nation if NAICOM enforce the laws appropriately.

    “We are ready to complement your efforts in the area of enforcement. It is more in our interest to collaborate with you, we will be the better for it.”

    The governor urged members of the team to seize the opportunity of the retreat to visit different parts of the state to appreciate the spread of developmental projects put in place by his administration.

    He urged NAICOM to ensure that insurance companies live up to their responsibilities, adding that failure to observe their duties would be inimical to the public.

    He also called on journalists to educate the public on the benefits of insurance to their daily activities.

  • Getting motorists to embrace insurance

    Getting motorists to embrace insurance

    Many motorists do not have valid insurance cover, leaving victims to their fate after an accident. To correct this anomaly, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has initiated an awareness campaign, ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE and OLALEKAN AYENI report

    It is a malaise that has become a culture on the road. A motorist hits another, usually the one ahead of him and within a twinkle of an eye, they begin a row that would leave a chaotic traffic gridlock. This usually continues until a law enforcement agent comes to straighten things out.

    “You don hit my car…oyinbo repete,” a song in the 70s by Ebenezer Obey Fabiyi, now an Evangelist, the scenario. However, the effect of such delays are more devastating now, because of the increase in motorised vehicles than they were in the 70s.

    At such times, according to a motorist, Olaosebikan Olajide, “reason usually takes flight as the road ‘demons’ would simply take over”.

    But the Lagos Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Mr Hyginus Omeje, said the ‘indiscipline’ occurs because of the “absence of insurance cover”on most vehicles.

    He said over 85 per cent of vehicles plying Lagos roads either do not have insurance cover or are parading fake ones obtained from nebulous avenues. He said soon, the agency would swoop on motorists with fake insurance certificates.

    According to Omeje, the sector has started an awareness campaign on motor vehicle insurance, which will see its officials going to schools, hospitals, churches, mosques, motor parks and other public places, to educate people on the advantages of having an insurance cover on their vehicles.

    He said motorists often block the road during crashes, waiting for traffic agencies to intervene. Such behaviour, he said, would not arise  if they had motor insurance – either third party or comprehensive.

    “A will say you are not moving the vehicle. B will also disagree with moving the vehicle, forgetting that a minute of obstruction can cause people hours in gridlock.

    He said what parties needed in the case of an accident was the exchange of the insurance papers, and then the insurance companies will take over. But people are fighting because they lack knowledge of this vital cover that gives them succour.

    The Sector chief said many times some people transfer the burden of these minor accidents to motorists, thereby creating  problems as they hold other road users to ransom over issues that could have been transferred to their insurers.

    He said: “The situation is so bad that some have even forgotten that they are carrying comprehensive cover and would still be fighting someone who hits them from the rear, rather than just calling on their insurer to fix the damage.”

    According to him, if their vehicles are insured, no matter the class of insurance, drivers need not engage in arguments that contribute to gridlocks.

    Omeje said Section 139 (1) of the National Road Traffic Regulation, 2012 makes it an offence for any person to drive any uninsured vehicle, trailer, stage carriage or omnibus on any public road, while Sub-section 3 of the same regulation makes it an offence for any person to drive any vehicle with forged or false insurance papers.

    According to him, the insurance required under the regulation shall either be the Third Party Insurance or Comprehensive insurance cover.

    Reeling out statistics, Omeje said, “in the last three years, thousands have died or suffered from physical or mental disability from road crashes. “In 2013, a total of 367 accidents were recorded, with 1,030 injured and 115 dead. In 2014, 323 accident cases, recorded 707 injured persons and 106 deaths, while a total of 289 accidents recorded between January to September 2015, left 642 injured and 82 deaths.

    Each time a crash occurs, the victims go uncompensated as a result of ignorance of their rights to same by the insurer.

    He said passengers had a right to some form of compensation if they sustain any injury on any vehicle that had a genuine insurance cover, while opportunities are also available for insurance owners to increase the benefits if they could pay just a little bit more.

    Omeje said it is sad that many Nigerians, including the educated, are ignorant of the benefits of insurance, adding that this would soon begin to change with the aggressive awareness campaign his sector intends.

    The exercise, he said was being embarked upon in collaboration with critical stakeholders, such as the Insurance Awareness &Advocacy Group, (IAAG Nigeria)  and the Nigeria Insurance Association (NIA). The campaign, he added, is to sensitise motorists, mostly the main stakeholders in the transport industry, Petroleum Tanker Drivers of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas (PTD-NUPENG), National Association of Truck Owners (NATO), National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), among others, to have a better understanding of the benefit of insurance and enlighten their members, a development which he added will reduce crashes on the road.

    Omeje appealed to the IAAG and other stakeholders to give the campaign the widest coverage to get across to all the major parks in Lagos and its environ so that motorists will understand that giving token to touts for the procurement of insurance cover is not only illegal, but is defeating the purpose of insurance.

    He praised the NIA for coming up with the Nigerian Insurance Industry Database (NIID), which has improved the public’s access to confirming not only the names of insurance companies and insurance broking firms operating in the country, but also the genuineness of the certificates procured from them.

    He advised the vehicles owners to ensure they patronise insurance firms whose names are on the database for whichever category of insurance cover they require, rather than patronising touts or illegal outlets for such documents.

    IAAG Nigeria’s President Mr Indongesit Mbat said the awareness campaign is aimed at improving the knowledge base of Nigerians to the huge benefits that are locked in the insurance sub-sector of the economy and how they could unlock these for their benefits.

    Mbat bemoaned the huge ignorance that still pervades even the educated in the country on insurance, adding that the first step to correcting this is the campaign that would change the perception of the people to insurance.

    “Insurance is viewed mainly as having nothing in store for the poor but exclusively for the rich. That perception must change and that is why we are going to all public places to re-educate the people to see the advantages they are missing in avoiding insurance. Insurance is all about life and providing for unforeseen eventualities that often causes disruption to the normal flow of life. So, everyone ought to embrace insurance and it must permeate to the grassroots.”

    On motor vehicle insurance, Mbat said though insurance per se would not reduce accidents, he assures  road users of the benefit of compensation when accidents occur. “Insurance brings succour in case of any accident, either on a comprehensive basis or to an innocent third party.

    Insurance firms support safe driving. All classes of insurance can bring succour to a third party giving them reliefs from the effects of accidents. In case of any accident, insurance companies of both parties holding third party instruments would cover the damages to which their owners are exposed.

    Mbat said even passengers are also liable to enjoy some limited reliefs even in a third party insurance as presently obtained, adding that governments should come out strongly to .

    “Passengers have a limited cover in case of accidents even in the case of third party. A commercial operator could therefore expand the cover of the instrument to give more reliefs to his passengers.

    An NIA official, Mrs Bola Omole, said NIA came up with the NIID to enable all to ensure that they patronise authentic insurers. She said in an economy that has a huge third party insurers, any vehicle owner can confirm the authenticity of a policy issued by any licensing office.

    She said: “Someone could just log on to the NIID website www.askniid.org and follow the instructions laid out on the website, enter your Vehicle Number or Insurance Policy number to confirm its authenticity.

    “Once entered, the result will appear right in front of you. If your policy is authentic, your vehicle number, policy number, vehicle type will appear. If it is fake no information will appear, meaning it is not in their database. If your insurance policy is not NIID, it is fake,” she says.

    In such eventualities, such a person cannot make a claim if anything happens to him or his car and the authorities could impound his/her vehicle.

    The benefits of this initiative, Mrs Omole said are quite enormous. “For example, by typing in the vehicle numbers of suspicious vehicle, or one which is contravening traffic laws, you would get the name of the owner of the car. The police can also use it to authenticate vehicle ownership against Vehicle Licence and Proof of Ownership documents. The benefits are, indeed, immense and will materialise as time goes on.

    “This is a laudable development which I hope everyone adopts. I hope they go on to include Properties Insurance, Fire and Burglary Insurance, Life Insurance etc to this platform. That surely will change the landscape of insurance in Nigeria.”

    She urged vehicle owners to follow the due process of getting a comprehensive insurance cover.

    There seems to be no other way if Omeje’s assertion must be believed. With the FRSC set to begin a clampdown on all those without genuine insurance document, the road may eventually become safer for road users and end may soon be in sight for gridlocks on the roads.

     

  • Recession biting hard on insurance business, says NCRIB

    Recession biting hard on insurance business, says NCRIB

    •Brokers urged to obey NAICOM rules

    The economic challenges  facing the country are biting hard on insurance business, President, Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB), Kayode Okunoren,  has said.

    Okunoren, who spoke at this month’s Members Evening in Lagos, called on the Federal Government to diversify the economy, and as well address the present economic challenges. He said the value of the naira has continued to take a downward plunge against the dollar, the pound sterling and other currencies, to the detriment of the nation’s economy.

    He said the resultant effect of this, is negative on the nation’s economic revival efforts, stating that aside from the possibility of stagnating industrial development and favourable trade, the situation is already causing increasing inflationary rate that is affecting the common man on the street.

    “The mono economy has left the country helpless, considering also the continuous downward slide in the price of crude oil in the international market, upstaging the budgetary anticipations of the government. Definitely, the insurance industry is not insulated from these grievous indices of economic recession,” he said.

    On the recent cancellation of broker’s licences by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Okunoren urged brokers to ensure that all necessary documents are filed with the regulatory authorities in good time to forestall sanctions.

    He described practising brokers who wait till their certificates lapse before filing necessary documents with the authorities, as unprofessional brokers.

    He said the Council has succeeded in getting NAICOM to address some issues affecting the broking fraternity, adding that the Commission has acceded to the request for a joint committee to review the list of requirements expected from brokers for rendering returns to the Commission on a yearly basis.

    “I am sure that many of you would be itching to hear from us on efforts made on the recently lapsed certificates of some of our members by the National Insurance Commission late last year.

    “It is an unfortunate incident. We have made concerted efforts to ensure that we get the understanding of the Commissioner for Insurance, Alhaji Mohammed Kari, on the development and happily that has crystalized in the call for re-application by the companies concerne.

    “Whilst still making efforts to continually enlist the understanding of NAICOM on issues relating to our members, I am happy to note that the Commission has acceded to our request for a joint committee to review the list of requirements expected from Brokers for rendering returns to the Commission on a yearly basis.

    “It is believed that the joint adhoc committee will pave the way for better and early compliance of our members. It is however expedient of me to state, without any contradiction, that it is unprofessional for any practicing broker to wait till its certificate is lapsed before filing necessary documents with the authorities.

    “The Governing Board has considered the retention of the help desk earlier established as a standing body to assist members in addressing areas that portend challenges for our members with regards to compliance with regulatory institutions,” he said.

  • ‘Low oil prices, instability affecting Middle East, North Africa insurance’

    Once viewed as an economic power house among emerging markets, with seeminglyunstoppable growth prospects, the Middle East region has succumbed to a deterioration in medium-term economic forecasts, driven by unrelenting low oil prices and persisting regional instability.

    A. M. Best Associate Director, Market Development & Communications, Dr. Edem Kuenyehia made this known in a report made available to The Nation in Lagos.

    According to him, these two key challenges are likely to dictate the operating landscape of Middle East and North Africa (MENA) economies over the near to medium term,and will have repercussions for the insurance markets across the region.

    He stated that the price per barrel in January, this year stood at approximately a quarter of its market value two years previously, and at the lowest point since 2003.

    He noted that despite the substantial fall inthe price of oil, there are further potential headwinds that can place greater pressure on the sector including reduced levels of demand from emerging economies, such as China, increased shale oil extraction mainly from the United States and the prospect of Iran reenteringthe market as a major supplier following the removal of certain oil-related sanctions.

    He said: “With a clear imbalance between global supply and demand already in existence, there is concern that a further reduction in demand and, or increased supply could drive oil prices as low as $15 per barrel. The Middle East, North Africa economies displayed relatively strong levels of resilience to the 2008 global financial crisis, however, with oil production and refinement the foundation of most economies in the region, the impact and severity of a prolonged period of low hydrocarbon, political instability remains a further and somewhat interlinked challenge for the MENA.

    “Inthe aftermath of the Arab Spring uprising, some of the countries affected have made positive strides from a political standpoint while others have seen a marked deterioration. Whilst the causes for political instability have not to date been directly linked to low hydrocarbon prices. There is a concern that heightened regional instability and political tensions over the longer term may exacerbate economic pressures on many MENA economies.”

    Kuenyehia said A.M. Best believes that the impact of these two key challenges on the insurance markets inthe region is difficult to predict, but will undoubtedly hinge upon where the “new normal” oil price lands and how governments manage potential budgetary cuts and social unrest.

  • ‘For affordable, accessible healthcare embrace insurance’

    ‘For affordable, accessible healthcare embrace insurance’

     Aside non-accessibility of healthcare services, another obstacle many Nigerians complain of is non-affordability.  In this interview with OYEYEMI GBENGA-MUSTAPHA, the Director, Managed Healthcare Services Limited (MHS), Dr Gabriel Idahosa, speaks on how Health Maintanance Organisations (HMOs) are bridging the gap.

    As  the director of an organisation that  is among those that were the earliest Health Maintanance Organisations (HMOs) registered by the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), how will you assess the sector?

    The health care maintenance industry did not exist about 15 years ago and health care maintenance organisations do what is simply ‘pooling of resources’, because anytime an individual goes to the hospital he/she has to pay the bills if he does not have any other person to pay it. So, what health maintenance does is to bring a lot of people together who pay a fixed amount monthly or yearly with guarantee that if at anytime they need health care, they can walk to their healthcare provider and get services and whatever the bill is, it is the health maintenance organisation that pays. So, once you are subscribed to a plan of Managed Healthcare Services Limited (MHS), for instance, and you have paid your monthly or yearly subscription fee and you then need to see your doctor, you will get treated. All you need do is to present your NHIS card and thereafter get the treatment and go away. The doctor or hospital sends the bill to MHS to settle. It guarantees you access to healthcare and you don’t have to have the anxiety of having to pay each time you go because you already have a plan that covers you and your family. If your wife or child needs medical care and it is under your plan, you don’t have to worry about not being around the family, all they just need is to go to the hospital and get treated. It is something that has been done in other countries for a long time.

    About 15 years ago, Nigeria didn’t have it, MHS and a few other organisations were the pioneers who worked with the government, convinced the government to set up a regulatory body called National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), which regulates the industry and gives licences for operators.

    There is the issue of ease of use of healthcare facilities by subscribers. What is your take on this?

    MHS was one of the first HMO to get a licence and since then, has been one of the leading HMOs and it has, among its list, very large Federal Government and   private agencies. We have offices and staff in all the states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). So, whenever our client is out of his state of residence, he only needs to identify our service provider in any of the states to access healthcare services. So, even if a member is travelling outside the country, he only needs to identify a provider by MHS in the neighbourhood and go there and show his or her card or NHIS number, the hospital will contact MHS to confirm if he or she is registered with it. So, even if your provider is in Lagos, you can get another provider in any part of the country to attend to you once you show your card or number and they are one of our listed provider. It guarantees you freedom of access where ever you are. It is not a case of I am resident in Lagos and it is only in Lagos I can get access to healthcare. If you have a health issue outside Lagos, you don’t have to take care of it by yourself.  MHS gives you access and freedom of choice of location. Another initiative MHS is doing as part of the accessibility and affordability reform to get results is that it helps the companies to have a fix on what they will spend in a year. So, if a company has 100 workers and agrees on an amount with MHS, that company will know it cannot get bills from different hospitals its members of staff go to when they access treatment. The bills do not go to the hospitals either, the bills go to MHS. MHS has foreknowledge of the company’s budget for the year and it is not shocked, but rather deep into the ‘pool’ and settles the hospitals based on how much the company will spend on staff treatment. And for the staff, it gives peace of mind that the employers have paid for his or her treatment with MHS and they can go to any clinic to get treated anytime.This is a service that has been perfected and has become reliable for a large number of federal agencies and private agencies.

    Is it the same plan/policy for your clients who choose this?

    No. There are several types of plans. We have the basic plan, which is for people who just want to go to the hospital. There are other levels of plans where you can go for admission; and very high level where you can be entitled to evacuation to any foreign country for treatment depending on your level and what type of plan you can afford, that covers a whole range of services you enjoy as a subscriber to an MHS plan. There are various levels or plans these are – Basic, Silver, Platinum and so on. For some plans, you are entitled to all the treatments things. When you pay for a plan that includes over-seas evacuation; for example, when you enrol for the plan, it will be clearly stated in what you get, that you are entitled to all these things so it is up to the individual registering to make that kind of choice.

    How has the public embraced this initiative?

    The evidence of that is that we have a very large number of people that are from members of the public that are not federal agencies and there are a very large number of companies that have enrolled with MHS. In addition, because of the benefits we offer through this initiative, individuals register themselves and their family, groups like cooperative societies, and communities subscribe to the health plan as well. It has an extra benefit of operating within one’s budget that is why a lot of associations are subscribing their members. And it is funny that based on this, many people are joining such associations to benefit from this plan.

    Since the introduction of HMOs, how can you assess the state of wellness of Nigerians?

    Wellness in terms of physical wellness or fitness, HMOs have not done much. HMOs really are to champion preventive healthcare, so that not much money will be spent on treatment. There is the need for HMOs to create this awareness. Awareness for people to be better informed about what you need to do to be healthy. The HMOs have to do more of health education, which is the major activity of the HMOs. They should organise health sessions with the companies who are their customers and organise for communities who are not even their customers as part of their CSRs (corporate Social Responsibilities).They should go to communities or associations to deliver health care education because a lot of illnesses occur because of ignorance based on the food you eat, lifestyles. If you have knowledge of those things, you will be safe. HMOs know what to eat, the kind of exercises people need to do, type of lifestyle to lead, how you sit down, the type and correct posture when you sit i.e when you have back or neck pain. The basic information on health must be given. In fairness to MHS, it does these all the time for its customers or be invited by groups who are not customers to come and give health education to staff.

    Are you saying HMOs are principally after profits and are under serving Nigerians?

    An HMO is a health maintenance organisation not a disease curing organisation. In maintenance, you already have good health but HMO wants to ensure that you continue to maintain that good health.  The last thing an HMO wants to do is to go to a hospital, it will prefer that your health is good. For instance, when some take insurance for a car, it is not that they want to have an accident with the car but you really don’t want to have an accident with the car. It is the same thing. An HMO really doesn’t want to go to the hospital. So, at MHS, we try to give you the education that you need to have your good health so you don’t have to go to the hospital, but if after all of that you still have to go to the hospital, then we are ready to make sure that you don’t have an unhealthy body.

    In Nigeria, there is problem of compliance to an agreement. In 15 years, what has been the compliance level for individuals, associations and groups towards their subscriptions?

    Like every other business, there is a level of performance; it will take about 100 activities to determine some things. Whether it is paying bills or people going to work, you find out that people will be late, it happens also in the industry. Some subscribers may delay in payment, some may come and negotiate with you and say this is when they want to pay, some even pay in advance before you ask them to pay. I will say in the industry the compliance level is very high. We have about 90 per cent enrolees who pay on time.  We still have that small percentage of people who delay payments and are owing but the compliance level is very high, because it is about your health not about something else like house rent, or a car.

    President Muhammadu Buhari has presented a budget to the National Assembly. As an expert, which areas do you advise the Federal Government to look into so that the major health challenges can be tackled?

    HMO as an organisation believes that preventive medicine reduces the number of people who attend the hospital. So that should take a lot of our budget allocation. This is because if people are not sick, the government will not need to maintain the hospital with a lot of money, in form of facilities. A chunk of previous budget goes to public health facilities and institutions in form of salaries and commodities. So, the minister should ensure that he reduced the rate at which people go to the hospital. A healthy community will give a clear view of what our budget is meant to address. Everything about health is about the well-being of the people. There are three things we need to do when we talk of medicine – access, adequate human resources, infrastructure and affordability.

    Acessibility can be seen from three perspectives – the presence of a facility (physical structure) called a health care facility does not automatically mean a person has access to the health care facility. The healthcare industry means health care facilities from the primary, secondary and down to the tertiary/teaching hospitals that are functional and should have the necessary equipment and environment to ensure that they work. They must have the equipment in place, the manpower, and the environment to make them work effectively. You must put in place a budget to ensure that once you walk into an hospital, you get that treatment that is comparable with what we get in any other part of the world.

    The issue of health care tourism is a problem. We have many Nigerians getting treatment abroad, not because they can’t get the treatment here but because they have the feeling that the facilities are not there.

    The right healthcare personnel and availability of drugs are also important. If these things are addressed in such a way that people will have faith in our structures, that they will get the right treatment and the right personnel, then no one will go far.

    But it is not everybody that is expected to walk into  a secondary or tertiary facility…

    The primary health care level is where most Nigerians access care. The primary health care centres must be made to function. We know that it is the government that is meant to take care of the primary health care facilities but I will believe that the local government should take it from where the Federal Government reached. It should ensure that the primary healthcare facilities are well taken care of, while the Federal Government and even some states take care of the tertiary institutions and secondary health care facilities. Nigerians should get to a stage where they will feel comfortable that they will get that anticipated level of care.

    Some things that are necessary are adequate water resources and infrastructure. We must work within the context of infrastructure and institute an efficient healthcare management system that will enable us measure the  industry. For instance, on a particular day, the number of deliveries that took place, or say, we had a number of people coming to access healthcare facility, determining the particular causes of illnesses and the number of people with that illness. That will help us plan and when planning, we can say, since we have so many people coming up with malaria, can we have an effective intervention to prevent malaria or since we are having these number of deliveries? Can we plan and say what the population of Nigeria is going to be using these basic important healthcare indices and statistics. Getting these proper healthcare statistics is important in planning and the development of any nation.

    Many enrolees complain of not getting their cards. How are you resolving this at the MHS?

    The essence of the card is for the provider to see that the person is an enrolee of MHS. Each card has a number. If you don’t have the card but has a number and you tell the hospital or the MHS,you will be attended to. Most people will copy that number and leave the card at home than leave the card at home without copying the number. Two things we look for in the card are the number and photograph but if you have the number and they access their system and identify you with that number, they will give you the treatment. Most people normally will carry their cards.

  • ‘Mobile insurance working for low income earners’

    Mobile insurance remains the easiest means to sell insurance to the low income Nigerians who may not be able to buy the comprehensive insurance cover, Managing Director, Val Ojumah, has said.

    He spoke at the media parley that kicked off the fifth anniversary of FBNInsurance

    He said when FBN Insurance introduced mobile insurance in partnership with Etisalat and Airtel in 2013, many felt it was not viable.

    He said Sure4Life and Padi4Life, the two mobile insurance products of the firm, were introduced into the market to make insurance available to all.

    “As you are very much aware, there are more than 100 million mobile lines in Nigeria. So, the easiest way to reach out to them is through mobile insurance because this product fits a large proportion of the populace, he said.

    The first claimant under the Sure4Life mobile insurance product, Taofik Yahaya, who got a text from his network, Etisalat, to purchase the policy by sending ‘LIFE’ to 48433, said he followed an instruction he was given and was glad he did.

    He said: “A few weeks ago, I needed urgent medical attention and FBNInsurance responded with a N10,000 medical expenses benefit.

    “As a beneficiary of Sure4Life, I feel very happy and excited that insurance now works in Nigeria, particularly because FBNInsurance responded and paid my medical claims benefit very fast. The payment I received from FBNInsurance helped to reduce my medical expenses and I am so delighted they came to my rescue.’’

  • Lagos may make health insurance compulsory

    Lagosians may be forced to  take the health insurance policy in the new year.

    Commissioner for Health Dr. Jide Idris gave the indication during his maiden briefing on the activities of the Ministry in the outgoing year and its plan for next year.

    He said: ‘The state government is considering making health insurance mandatory for residents by the second quarter of the new year. We intend to target specific diseases and emergencies.’’

    Idris said health facilities across the state are overstretched by patients who come from within and outside  the state. ‘’So, we are considering running double schedules in a day,” he said.

    “We can assure that all health projects started by the past government in Lagos would be completed by the new government and upgrade others to meet the demand of the growing population.”

    The focus would be the Primary healthcare and the completion of Ayinke House – the Gynaecological/Obstetrics Department of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH).

    “The contract of Ayinke House has been terminated and awarded to a new contactor, who has assured of completion in another nine months. TB/HIV and other communicable diseases will be aggressively adressed through campaigns and public awareness,” he added.

    He listed challenges facing the ministry to include, “influx of patients from other states, finance, inadequate workforce, old structure, equipment breakdown, attitude of some bad eggs among others. All these are being addressed to ensure lagosians get the best healthcare delivery without wasting their time.”

  • Online insurance platform berths in Nigeria

    It is a known fact that many Nigerians don’t insure their properties and this is understandable, considering the number of scams and the amount of time spent in trying to rip the dividend from insurance companies.

    However, the implication of not insuring ones property is usually not considered if disaster or accidents occur.

    Also the integrity of insurance companies is doubted, making it harder from for people to ensure. In an effort to ease Nigerians of their fear and doubt, an innovative internet insurance platform for Nigerian internet users was launched recently in Lagos.

    The online car insurance website, Topcheck, was founded by two German tech entrepreneurs, Christian Wiesner and Thomas Pilar, who said they came to Nigeria for the enormous opportunities in the country.

    The platform according to them will enable insurance seeks to compare prices and buy insurance policies directly from insurance companies on their mobile phone or their computer. “Traditionally, insurance in Nigeria has been very weak but there are lots of efforts in the industry to strengthen insurance as a product and make it much more effective for the customer,” Pilar, adding that they have noticed change in the economy which is the reason they moved to Nigeria.

    The site is available to a public of millions of internet users and at the same time making it much easier and convenient them to use. “We offer a platform that set the standards of buying insurance by providing the fastest, most secure and most comfortable way to do so. We connect insurance companies directly with insurance seekers on our website topcheck.com.ng,” said Wiesner.

    According to them, consumers can buy car insurance policy within 10 minutes without going anywhere or without needing to visit an office, thereby increasing convenience to insure in the comfort of their homes or office on their platform

    “Recent numbers show that the enormous amount of 97.2 million Nigerians is already connected to the internet. We try to make the insurance space more customer friendly by offering innovative solutions that traditional insurance companies do not offer,” said Wiesner.

    They informed that they are partnering with trusted security companies. In their words: “We apply all security measures we can and our customers can be 100 per cent sure that their data and systems are 100 per cent secured as well as partnering with various top companies such as Mountain Partners, Trivago, Jumia and Comparis.ch amongst others, including investors in order to give customers value for their money.”

    However, they said TopCheck “is not an insurance broker, but an independent website offering a free and easy to understand comparison of insurance and other services. TopCheck only lists the products of the best providers in the market,” assuring customers that they acts in their best interest and only lists the products of the best providers in the market. “Our mission is to bring transparency to a market that has been very in-transparent for the customer traditionally.

    “We love Nigeria” said, Wiesner, “here in Nigeria, we experience a level of dynamism and an optimistic business mentality that we miss in Germany. For this reason Thomas and I moved here recently.”

  • Europe’s insurance markets show recovery signs

    Europe’s largest insurance markets have continued to show some signs of recovery, with many experiencing top-line growth, a new report by A.M. Best has shown.

    According to the report, the increases in total gross written premium (GWP) come in general following a number of years of muted development and even decline, and there is a sense of optimism that this momentum will continue.

    A.M. Best’s in-depth analysis of the key European markets shows Italy has experienced a second consecutive year of double-digit growth with a 20.7 per cent jump in total GWP in 2014. France posted a 6.1 per cent increase, while Germany recorded a more modest 2.7 per cent rise. Spain’s total premium volume fell by 0.4 per cent in 2014, although this was its smallest decline in three years and despite its continued contraction, the country’s insurance market remains very resilient and profitable.

    In the same vein, French insurance market confirms recovery, yet challenges remain.

    The market grew strongly in 2014, experiencing a 6.1 per cent rise in gross written premium (GWP) to EUR 200.0 billion according to data from the Fédération Française des Sociétés d’Assurances (FFSA), thereby accelerating the recovery observed in 2013.

    The growth recorded in 2014 was driven by the dynamism of the life and savings segment, with GWP increasing by 8.4 per cent to EUR 128.8 billion, a sign of the solid recovery from the challenging years that followed the global economic crisis. In comparison, the health sector recorded a more modest growth of 3.2 per cent to EUR 20.1 billion, whilst the non-life segment remained relatively stable, recording GWP of EUR 51.1 billion, up two per cent compared with EUR 50.1 billion in 2013.

    Whilst premium revenue continued to grow in 2015, the French insurance industry has not appeared as buoyant as in 2014, with GWP rising by four per cent in the first five months of the year compared to the same period in 2014.

    This was again chiefly driven by the life and savings segment reporting a more normalised growth of five per cent over the period, whilst the health and non-life segments confirmed the trends observed in 2014.

    A.M. Best considers the French insurance sector to remain solid, although it continues to face a challenging operating environment. The French market is indeed mature and remains highly competitive, with a total insurance penetration rate of 9.3 per cent compared to 6.6 per cent for Germany and 5.3 per cent for Spain.

    Furthermore, the low interest rate environment continues to pressure insurers’ operating earnings and bonus rates credited to life products. Economic growth in France has been sluggish and remained below 0.4 per cent from 2012 to 2014 due to tighter fiscal policies and high unemployment of about 10 per cent.

    However, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) expects growth to gain momentum in 2015 and 2016 as lower commodity prices and a weaker Euro should strengthen the demand for French goods and services.