Heirs urges Nigerians to embrace insurance

The Heirs Insurance Group has said that insurance becomes a crucial cushioning tool amid economic hardship.

The Sector Head/Chief Executive Officer of Heirs Life Assurance Limited, Niyi Onifade, said this on Thursday at the group’s third-anniversary documentary screening and media parley, which was held at the firm’s headquarters in Lagos.

Heirs Insurance Group, which comprises Heirs Life Assurance Limited, Heirs General Insurance, and Heirs Insurance Brokers, describes itself as a digital-first insurer that uses technology to make life insurance simpler and smarter.

Responding to questions about the attractiveness of insurance amid dwindling income, Onifade said, “For us, it is about awareness and understanding that insurance is crucial, particularly when the economy is not so good. During this period, the education of the child is key and having insurance to fall back on can help.

“A trader needs to get insurance for his shop. If you have a car, you need to have insurance so that you have something to fall back on and that is why we say it is about awareness. We tell people that it is important to make insurance a lifestyle decision.”

He added that as far as the life business was concerned, the company had made about 90 per cent of its revenue from the retail segment.

Onifade said, “We have also been paying claims consistently and we pay very fast. In 2023, the two companies paid N4.1bn as settlement of claims, and that is almost a 170 per cent increase over what we paid in 2022.

That is part of what is contributing to our growth.

“People know that when they insure their cars, and homes and place their children’s education plan with us, they know that we pay claims as when due.”

He disclosed that the group was seeking to grow footprints on the African continent starting with the West African sub-region.

“We are expanding to Africa and that will start from next year from West Africa and that is starting with new products. Gone are those days when insurance companies said that they wanted to introduce this product or that product, now products are introduced based on needs. That was why we said in the documentary that we know that needs would continue to change in the coming year and the taste of the insurance consumers would change,” he noted.

In its recently released 2023 financials, Heirs Insurance Group reported a 59.30 per cent growth in its gross written premium to N31.7bn in 2023 from N19.9bn in 2022.