The Professional Insurance Ladies’ Association (PILA) on Monday urged the Federal Government to initiate a bill seeking to compel men – from 18 years – to take life insurance policy.
The PILA President, Jocelyn Ogbuokiri, made the appeal in Lagos.
Ogbuokiri said that such a bill had become necessary to reduce suffering of women and children due to loss of their bread winners.
“Widows that are left without life insurance cover, most times, face hardships in several ways.
“Girls that are part of that family sometimes take to prostitution while the boys become urchins,’’ she said.
The PILA president said that, if passed into law, the bill would boost insurance penetration in the country.
She regretted alleged lackadaisical attitude of Nigerians towards insurance policies, saying that the policies were in the interest of the citizenry.
Ogbuokiri noted that life insurance policy was one of the pillars of personal finance, and deserved consideration by every household.
“As we are aware, life is so unpredictable; this will help to compensate for the inevitable financial consequences that accompany the loss of life.
“Strategically, it helps those left behind to cover burial expenses, outstanding debts and mortgages, planned educational expenses and lost incomes.
“Life insurance can provide peace of mind for the policy holder; that is why life insurance is vital for the breadwinner of a single income household,’’ she said.
According to her, the country’s low insurance penetration of 0.6 per cent is damaging the industry and the economy at large.
“The low penetration is maligning the industry’s contribution to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP),’’ the PILA president said.
According to her, the country’s penetration as at July, 2015, stood at 0.6 per cent, compared to those of South Africa, Namibia and Kenya, which were at 15.4 per cent, 7.7 per cent, and 3.4 per cent, respectively.
Ogbuokiri expressed the hope that initiation and passage of the bill would make insurance penetration in Nigeria to reach five per cent by 2017.
PM News
