Insurance brokers have been advised to leverage digital solutions to help sustain their businesses amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking during the general meeting of the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (Lagos Area Committee), Obafemi Oshinowo, Director, L&D, Leadway Assurance Company Limited, said the world has gone digital and there is no going back; therefore, brokers cannot be left behind.
According to Oshinowo, the digital approach digital is customer and incorporates data-driven automation to create new value. He therefore advised that digital solutions that should be delivered to customers should also be customer-led and channeled to digital customers. He explained that digital customers are made up of the millennials and the generation Z, adding that while the former represents two billion people or 27 percent of the global population, the later represents 1.8 billion people and 24 percent of the global population.
“These are the people that consume a lot of data and they are the market we need to sell differently to… He stressed that for brokers to attract these markets, they need to become digital brokers and imbibe new ways of doing business. Digital brokers use less papers, depend on web portal and mobile apps, automates processes and interacts digitally, mines new opportunities through data driven tools and technology, are constantly evolving and growing their client base and servicing various customer segments,” he said.
Earlier, in his welcome address, Rotimi Olukorede, Chairman of the Lagos Area Committee of NCRIB, welcomed participants while thanking the sponsors of the event. Linkage Assurance, hinted that in building a sustainable business, insurance, brokers must understand how to satisfy their customers in the new norm and increasing market penetration in Nigeria.
“The old ways of doing things may not carry us to the next level. To move to next level, we need to use digital solutions. We need to unite together to make progress,” Olukorede told participants.
Also speaking at the hybrid event (zoom and physical), Mrs. Bola Onigbogi, President, NCRIB praised the Lagos State Chapter for its pioneering role in providing thought-leadership within the marketing arm of the insurance industry. She explained that the topic for the day was especially important as one cannot continue to do the same thing over and over again and expect different results, stressing that there is a need to retool strategies towards boosting insurance penetration in Nigeria.
Dr. Onigbogi noted that there is no measure of efforts put into digital knowledge that can be too much, adding that members would need to imbibe contemporary trends in digital marketing to build sustainable businesses. She also used the opportunity to pledge her support and continually give her unselfish devotion to the growth and sustenance of the council.
Managing Director, Linkage Assurance Plc, Daniel Braie, sponsors of the event, said Linkage Assurance partnered NCRIB (LAC) to put up the event because the company wants to be instrumental to the growth of insurance business in Nigeria. He said Linkage Assurance has hosted similar events in Abuja, Kaduna, Port Harcourt and now Lagos, stressing that Linkage Assurance is the first company to power such event in the market. He said Linkage Assurance has recorded great feats in the sector which would not have been possible without the support of the brokers.