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Chuks Udo Okonta
At a time some underwriters are afraid of operating in Borno State owing to the activities of Boko Haram, few operators operating in the state seem to be generating huge premium as available data revealed that premium grossed from the state far exceeded what was obtained from 22 other states of the federation.
According to data obtained from the 2018 Nigeria Insurance Digest, produced by the Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA), Borno State in 2018, provided N390.29 million premium to insurers, which was far ahead of N314.32 million gotten from Akwa Ibom, and other oil producing states such as Bayelsa, which yielded N141.29 million and Imo, N342.96 million.
Benue and Ebonyi which parade themselves as agriculture hub of the nation, also fell below the contributions from Borno as N25.65 million and N21.49 million were grossed from Benue and Ebonyi respectively.
Yobe state stood at the base of states with low premium as only N7.82 million was obtained by underwriters.
The Chairman of the NIA, Tope Smart, said the premium from Borno State, was as a result of the people been careful and protecting their lives and properties through insurance.
According to him, the people had realised that the best way to secure their belongings against risks is insurance. He called on other Nigerians to embrace insurance and leverage it to secure their future.
The Executive Secretary, Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers, Fatai Adegbenro, said the premium from the state may have accrued from efforts of the government to reconstruct all the damaged structures by the Boko Haram.
He also called on the public to embrace insurance as against the act of relying on government in the time of disaster.
He implored on all stakeholders in the insurance industry to work together to take the sector to lofty heights.
