Insurance sector ’ll gain more with digital adoption –Onifade, Heirs Life CEO

By Chiamaka Ajeamo

The insurance industry serves as an insulator to every other industry and, as such, must work at the pace that others are, if not ahead, hence the industry needs to embrace digitalisation to efficiently perform the sensitive roles it plays, the Managing Director of Heirs Life Assurance, Niyi Onifade, has said.

Onifade said this at the 2021 edition of the Insurance Professionals’ Forum organised by the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN) recently.

In a panel discussion, corroborating the Governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun, and the Commissioner of Insurance, Sunday Thomas, on the benefits of having a solid digitised industry, Onifade analysed the differences between digital, digitalisation and digital transformation, and charged the industry to adopt digitalisation due to the numerous advantages it offers to the sector.

“The insurance industry plays a significant role in the economic development of Nigeria, providing support and backup for people and businesses. This means that we must be at the forefront of digitalisation and be better positioned to help them achieve their goals and aspirations continuously.”

He further explained the many benefits that the industry stands to gain if digitalisation is embraced quickly. He highlighted these benefits to include: product innovation, customer satisfaction, service excellence, fraud detection, cost efficiency and talent retention.

He added that when these are accomplished, they are capable of boosting the industry’s relevance, increasing penetration and ultimately, contributing to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) like its counterpart in the advanced countries.

It will be noted that Onifade has continued to be at the vanguard of digital insurance, actively pushing the campaign for a digital-first approach not only with its products but also with service.

On its part, the CIIN emphasised the need for professionals to secure the industry space with digitalisation.

According to the professionals, “there is a need for data analytics to promote digitisation; there is an urgent need for the adoption of digital sales agents.

“There is a need to promote ethical standards within the industry so as to earn public trust in services provided by operators, and to take advantage of the existing payment system in Nigeria with a view to promoting multiple premium payment methods such as Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) and mobile app.”

They equally implored the regulator to inspire, support and facilitate the digitalisation narrative in the industry and offer guidance for other stakeholders.

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