It was with rapt attention that insurance and pension attendees at the 8th BusinessToday annual conference & exhibition held recently in Lagos with the theme “The World of AI: How Insurance And Pension Sectors Can Explore Opportunities For Market Penetration,” as they stayed tuned to the submissions of the keynote speaker and panelists on how it can transform the space of doing business in both sectors.
Coming from the insurance perspective the Commissioner for Insurance/CEO, National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Mr. Sunday Olorundare Thomas, was unequivocal on what AI would be to the insurance industry, he sees it as the key to the future of insurance business in Nigeria.
Thomas who was represented at the conference by the Deputy Director, Lagos Office of NAICOM, Ajibola Olabisi Bankole, urged insurance operators to increase adoption in this area as it improves service and enhances profitability. He said insurance consumers would experience another dimension in quick service delivery and claims payment.
Thomas explained that AI is captured in captured as part of the 10-year roadmap of the insurance industry, and that NAICOM, as a regulator, will continue to evolve policies that will engender the growth of the industry, increases penetration and contribution to nation’s GDP.
The Chairman of the event, and also Chairman, NEM Insurance Plc, Tope Smart said he sees AI as a game changer in an industry that still bestrides the low rungs of financial necessity across Africa. With AI he said “we can achieve a lot and intervene in several areas which will include customer satisfaction, engagement, risk management and assessment and, in pension he said there would upgrades in the service of retirement benefits, life expectancy and an avalanche of areas. Explicit Smart said AI intervention was needed in all areas of operations.
Pushing for unabated penetration, Smart said low enforcement is still a snag and this was making compulsory insurances a far cry from what it should be. He therefore charged all stakeholders to be united to realise the objectives of penetration. He stated that he is very passionate about insurance penetration and would always serve his quota anywhere he is required to do so.
“It is quite saddening that out of a population of 200 million, only about 3 million people are actually insured. Lack of enforcement is a challenge but the industry is working round the clock to increase enforcement through the regulatory and enforcement bodies.
“Consumers apathy due to bad experience they have had in the past, is affecting policy renewals but I can assure Nigerians that there are various complaint avenues for people to lodge complaints. If your legitimate claims are not settled, you can approach Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) and NAICOM, and if your complaints are genuine, they will be definitely resolved,” he assured.
The president, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria(CIIN), Mr. Edwin Igbiti, said growing insurance industry will require that the nation’s economy be DE risked, while seeking partnership with government and other stakeholders to deepen insurance penetration.
He hold the view that AI will increase insurance premium, enhances service delivery and ensure insurance sector contributes more to the nation’s gross domestic product(GDP).
The Chief Executive Officer, Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria, Oguche Agudah, said that “the theme of AI and market penetration is very apt as to where we are as a country. AI affects everyone generally whether we know it or not. So the challenge for us is how do we use this tool for insurance and pension penetration? How do we use it in everyday life?”
He said AI is without doubt enhancing efficiency and increases productivity. “Recently I had a zoom meeting with my team and after the meeting I told members of my team that I want all the minutes of the meeting to be ready at least within 24 hours.
“Immediately after the meeting, they brought the minutes and when I asked what was the secret, they told me that there is an app on AI that they used.
He said AI can help in investment decisions, adding that as there are good sides of AI, there are also bad sides that must be taken care of.
Earlier in her welcome address, the managing editor, BusinessToday Communication Limited, Mrs. Nkechi Naeche-Esezobor, noted that the theme of the conference, ‘The World Of AI: How Insurance And Pension Sectors Can Explore Opportunities For Market Penetration,’ provided opportunities to deliberate and fashion out strategies that both the insurance and pension sectors can deploy to enhance consumer value and service delivery, as well as further deepen market penetration.
Noting that Nigeria’s insurance industry hit N1 trillion premium income target last year fourteen years behind target and still a milestone, she said the feat is expected to rise faster with the right technology, including AI.
“AI is transforming insurance industry, especially in underwriting, customer support, advertising, claims, and fraud prevention,”:she said.
In pension industry, she said just by simply automating various aspects of pension management from data analysis to investment decision-making, AI minimises the need for extensive human intervention, saying, these savings can then be passed on to pension holders thereby enhancing their overall returns.
Feature picture, the images as they stand.L-R: Ademola Abidogun. Managing Director/CEO, Guinea Insurance Plc; Tope Smart, Chairman of occasion/Chairman, NEM Insurance Plc; Nkechi Naeche Esezobor, Publisher, BusinessToday Nigeria; Johnson Chukwu, keynote speaker and Managing Director/CEO, Cowry Asset Ltd; Idu Okwuosa- Okeahialami, former Managing Director/ CEO, Access Pension Fund Custodian Ltd; Michael Mgbame, founder/Lead Business Intelligence Consultant at Hankali Intel, and Oguche Agudah, Chief Executive Officer, Pension Funds Operators of Nigeria (PenOp), during the 8th BusinessToday annual conference/ exhibition held recently, in Lagos.
