Life Insurance, Key To Wise Financial Planning – Kemi Adeosun

L-R: Head Contribution & Bond Redemption, National Pension Commission, Mr. Lana Loyinmi; Deputy Commissioner, Finance and Administration, NAICOM, Mr. George Onekhena; Director General, Nigeria Insurers Association, Mrs. Yetunde Ilori; past president, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria and Chairman of occasion, Alhaji Bala Zakariya’u and Managing Director, Lancelot Ventures Ltd, Mr Adebayo Adeleke during the 3rd Annual National Conference of the National Association of Insurance and Pension Correspondents (NAIPCO) on The Role of Stakeholders in Developing Insurance and Pension Sectors held in Lagos

By LOVETH AZODO,  Lagos

In Line with the various economic developmental initiatives of the Federal Government and its agencies, Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun said that Life insurance holds the key to wise financial planning and is panacea for poverty alleviation among Nigerians at all levels including grass root dwellers

Speaking at the 3rd National Conference of the National Association of Insurance and Pension Correspondents (NAIPCO) recently held in Lagos, she urged Nigerians to build up a solid financial plan for future through life insurance planning.

The Minister, who was represented by the Deputy Commissioner for Insurance, Finance and Administration, George Onekhena, encouraged Nigerians to be knowledgeable on the particular life insurance they want to buy as well as how to go about it.

She also said that those in doubt could engage the service of insurance brokers for professional insurance advise, adding that this has become necessary because no body knows the day of his death and it will be disastrous for anyone to leave dependents without benefits.

“Every Nigerian buys one house hold item or the other at any time and you don’t enter the market and start making your purchases.

“You make enquiries before going to market, in like manner, in your life insurance decisions, you can take time to ask question on the life insurance policy you want to buy, no body knows the day of his death so life insurance is critical, life insurance is foundation to every wise financial planning,” she stated.

Speaking on the challenge facing insurance and pension operators in Nigeria, she said people hardly tell the public when they get benefit from these two sectors citing instance of quantum of retirement benefits paid on monthly basis by Pension Fund Administrators(PFAs) to retirees and quantum of claims paid in a year by insurance firms.

NAIPCO conference is the only forum that brings both pension and insurance operators, their regulators and stakeholders together to discuss their affairs.

The conference played a key role in settling the crisis that arose last year between the two sectors in Annuity administration and management.