Expert decries low insurance patronage in Kwara

By Mike Adeyemi
An Ilorin based insurance expert, Shola Oni has decried low insurance patronage by people in Kwara State.
He stated this during an interview with our reporter in his office on Friday.
According to him, “Insurance which remains the greatest panacea to poverty alleviation, has been neglected by many Kwarans.
“The involvement of the people of Kwara State in insurance policy is below average. People here patronise insurance in Kwara because it is regarded as a civil servant state.
“The regulatory body, National Insurance Commission of Nigeria (NAICON) is not doing well enough for effective participation of Kwarans in Insurance policy,” he said.
The insurance expert added that most of his clients are not from Kwara State.
“It is unfortunate that about 30 percent of the people of Kwara embraced insurance policy.
He further noted that poor sensitization in Kwara accounts for the low patronage of insurance policy.
“Insurance is meant for low income earners, but people of the state don’t value it and the sensitisation is not well done. The sensitisation is poor in Kwara.
“Sharp practises of some insurance companies in the state also pose challenge.
“The main problem is that National Insurance Commission of Nigeria (NAICON) is not doing enough in putting right strategies to encourage participation or to monitor insurance companies to do the right thing(s),” he noted.
He added that, “Another challenge is that the Kwara State Government gave approval to only one particular insurance company to issue motor third party insurance certificate at the detriment of others.
“There suppose to be a level playing ground because all of us pay tax. My company pays taxes regularly. This is discouraging. They should allow all insurance companies to have a desk at the liaison office of Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC),” he suggested.